Joseph Charles Bequaert
Encyclopedia
Joseph Charles Bequaert was an American
naturalist
of Belgian origin, born 24 May 1886 in Torhout
(Belgium) and died on 12 January 1982 in Amherst
(Massachusetts
).
He obtained a doctorate in botany at the University of Ghent in 1908. He was an entomologist, and from 1910 to 1912 he was part of la commission Belge sur la maladie du sommeil (Belgian Committee on sleeping sickness). From 1913 to 1915 he worked as a botanist in the Belgian Congo
and also collected mollusks.
In 1916 he emigrated to the United States
and was an associate researcher from 1917 to 1922 in the American Museum of Natural History
. He became an American citizen in 1921, and taught Entomology at the Harvard Medical School. From 1929 to 1956 he was Curator of insects at the Museum of Comparative Zoology
at Harvard, and was Professor of Zoology from 1951 to 1956 within the same institution.
Bequaert became president of the American Malacological Union in 1954. He left his post at Harvard in 1956. From 1956 to 1960, he lectured in biology at the University of Houston. With Walter Bernard Miller (1918–2000), he published The Mollusks of the Arid Southwest in 1973.
He was a member of various learned societies: Zoological Society of France, the Entomological Society of America, the Belgian Royal Society of Entomology, the Belgian Society of Tropical Medicine, the Royal Institute of Colonial Belgium, Koninklijk Natuurwetenschappelijk Genootschap Dodonaea, and the Natural History Society of North Africa.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
of Belgian origin, born 24 May 1886 in Torhout
Torhout
Torhout is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality only comprises the city of Torhout proper. On January 1, 2008 Torhout had a total population of 19,755...
(Belgium) and died on 12 January 1982 in Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,819, making it the largest community in Hampshire County . The town is home to Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts...
(Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
).
He obtained a doctorate in botany at the University of Ghent in 1908. He was an entomologist, and from 1910 to 1912 he was part of la commission Belge sur la maladie du sommeil (Belgian Committee on sleeping sickness). From 1913 to 1915 he worked as a botanist in the Belgian Congo
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
and also collected mollusks.
In 1916 he emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and was an associate researcher from 1917 to 1922 in the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
. He became an American citizen in 1921, and taught Entomology at the Harvard Medical School. From 1929 to 1956 he was Curator of insects at the Museum of Comparative Zoology
Museum of Comparative Zoology
The Museum of Comparative Zoology, full name "The Louis Agassiz Museum of Comparative Zoology", often abbreviated simply to "MCZ", is a zoology museum located on the grounds of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is one of three museums which collectively comprise the Harvard Museum...
at Harvard, and was Professor of Zoology from 1951 to 1956 within the same institution.
Bequaert became president of the American Malacological Union in 1954. He left his post at Harvard in 1956. From 1956 to 1960, he lectured in biology at the University of Houston. With Walter Bernard Miller (1918–2000), he published The Mollusks of the Arid Southwest in 1973.
He was a member of various learned societies: Zoological Society of France, the Entomological Society of America, the Belgian Royal Society of Entomology, the Belgian Society of Tropical Medicine, the Royal Institute of Colonial Belgium, Koninklijk Natuurwetenschappelijk Genootschap Dodonaea, and the Natural History Society of North Africa.
External links
Biography by Charles H. Smith, Joshua Woleben and Carubie Rodgers- Abbott R. T. (1974). American Malacologists. A National Register of Professional and Amateur Malacologists and Private Shell Collectors and Biographies of Early American Mollusk Workers Born Between 1618 and 1900, American Malacologists (Falls Church, Virginie): iv + 494 p. ISBN 0-913792-02-0