Robert Evans Snodgrass
Encyclopedia
Robert Evans Snodgrass (July 5, 1875 – September 4, 1962) was an American
entomologist and artist who made important contributions to the fields of arthropod
morphology
, anatomy
, evolution
, and metamorphosis
.
He was the author of 78 scientific articles and six books, including Insects, Their Ways and Means of Living (1930) and the book considered to be his crowning achievement, the Principles of Insect Morphology (1935).
on July 5th, 1875, to James Cathcart Snodgrass and Annie Elizabeth Evans Snodgrass, where he lived until he was eight years old. He was the oldest of three children. His admitted first ambition in life was to be a railway engineer or a Pullman conductor, though frequent visits to the St. Louis Zoo
aroused his early interests in zoology. His first recollections of entomology were recorded by E.B. Thurman:
In 1883, he and the his family moved to Wetmore, Kansas, where his father worked in a local bank, and young Snodgrass began work as a self-taught taxidermist. He had a particular interest in birds, even expressing a desire to become an ornithologist, though his family only allowed limited shooting of birds for his mounted collections. At age 15, the family again moved, this time to Ontario, California
, where they settled on a 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) ranch and grew oranges, prunes, and grapes. It was here that Snodgrass entered a Methodist preparatory school at the high school level, then known as Chaffey College. He studied Latin, Greek, French, German, physics, chemistry, and drawing, but notably no biology because the curriculum forbade involving the teaching of biological evolution. Snodgrass bypassed this problem by reading Darwin
, Huxley, and Spencer in his free time. His openly professed belief in biological evolution caused him personal problems in his relationships at home and eventually resulted in being expelled from church activities in his community.
In 1895, at the age of 20, Snodgrass entered Stanford University
and majored in zoology, taking classes such as general zoology, embryology, entomology with Dr. Vernon Lyman Kellogg
, ichthyology with then Stanford president Dr. David Starr Jordan, and comparative vertebrate anatomy. His first opportunity to conduct research came from Dr. Kellogg, who set him to work on the biting lice (Mallophaga). The excitement of research, and the prospect for publishing original work led to his giving up the desire to become an ornithologist, and the publication of his first two science articles (works 1,2). During this time, Snodgrass also participated in his first two field expeditions, the first to the Pribilof Islands
led by Dr. Jordan, and the second to the Galapagos Islands
, led by Edmund Heller
. Snodgrass eventually published seven papers with Heller regarding organisms collected during the Galapagos expedition (works 3, 5, 6, 7, 12, 16, 19). Snodgrass graduated from Stanford University
with his A.B. degree in Zoology in 1901.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
entomologist and artist who made important contributions to the fields of arthropod
Arthropod
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
morphology
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
, anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
, evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
, and metamorphosis
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation...
.
He was the author of 78 scientific articles and six books, including Insects, Their Ways and Means of Living (1930) and the book considered to be his crowning achievement, the Principles of Insect Morphology (1935).
Biography
R.E. Snodgrass was born in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
on July 5th, 1875, to James Cathcart Snodgrass and Annie Elizabeth Evans Snodgrass, where he lived until he was eight years old. He was the oldest of three children. His admitted first ambition in life was to be a railway engineer or a Pullman conductor, though frequent visits to the St. Louis Zoo
Saint Louis Zoological Park
The Saint Louis Zoological Park, commonly known as the St. Louis Zoo, is a zoo in Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri. It is recognized as a leading zoo in animal management, research, conservation, and education...
aroused his early interests in zoology. His first recollections of entomology were recorded by E.B. Thurman:
The first entomological observation which Dr. Snodgrass recalls is seeing that the legs of grasshoppers, cut off by his father's lawnmower, could still kick while lying on the pavement. This apparently mysterious fact made a strong impression on him, and he decided that sometime he would look into the matter.
In 1883, he and the his family moved to Wetmore, Kansas, where his father worked in a local bank, and young Snodgrass began work as a self-taught taxidermist. He had a particular interest in birds, even expressing a desire to become an ornithologist, though his family only allowed limited shooting of birds for his mounted collections. At age 15, the family again moved, this time to Ontario, California
Ontario, California
Ontario is a city located in San Bernardino County, California, United States, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire region, it lies just east of the Los Angeles county line and is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area...
, where they settled on a 20 acres (80,937.2 m²) ranch and grew oranges, prunes, and grapes. It was here that Snodgrass entered a Methodist preparatory school at the high school level, then known as Chaffey College. He studied Latin, Greek, French, German, physics, chemistry, and drawing, but notably no biology because the curriculum forbade involving the teaching of biological evolution. Snodgrass bypassed this problem by reading Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, Huxley, and Spencer in his free time. His openly professed belief in biological evolution caused him personal problems in his relationships at home and eventually resulted in being expelled from church activities in his community.
In 1895, at the age of 20, Snodgrass entered Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and majored in zoology, taking classes such as general zoology, embryology, entomology with Dr. Vernon Lyman Kellogg
Vernon Lyman Kellogg
Vernon Myman Lyman Kellogg was a U.S. entomologist, evolutionary biologist, and science administrator....
, ichthyology with then Stanford president Dr. David Starr Jordan, and comparative vertebrate anatomy. His first opportunity to conduct research came from Dr. Kellogg, who set him to work on the biting lice (Mallophaga). The excitement of research, and the prospect for publishing original work led to his giving up the desire to become an ornithologist, and the publication of his first two science articles (works 1,2). During this time, Snodgrass also participated in his first two field expeditions, the first to the Pribilof Islands
Pribilof Islands
The Pribilof Islands are a group of four volcanic islands off the coast of mainland Alaska, in the Bering Sea, about north of Unalaska and 200 miles southwest of Cape Newenham. The Siberia coast is roughly northwest...
led by Dr. Jordan, and the second to the Galapagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
, led by Edmund Heller
Edmund Heller
Edmund Heller was an American zoologist.Heller attended Stanford University in 1896 and finished his study of zoology with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1901. From 1926 to 1928 he was curator of mammals at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago...
. Snodgrass eventually published seven papers with Heller regarding organisms collected during the Galapagos expedition (works 3, 5, 6, 7, 12, 16, 19). Snodgrass graduated from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
with his A.B. degree in Zoology in 1901.
External links
- Smithsonian Institution Archives (Short biography and list of holdings for R.E. Snodgrass)
- Snodgrass, R.E. (1930) Insects, their ways and means of living (Scanned book)
- The Snodgrass Tapes
- The Snodgrass Tapes, Lecture 1. Facts and Theories on the Insect Head (Audio link of Dr. Snodgrass lecturing in 1960)
- The Snodgrass Tapes, Lecture 2. Facts and Theories on the Insect Head (Audio link of Dr. Snodgrass lecturing in 1960)
- The Snodgrass Tapes, Lecture 3. Evolution of the Arthropods (Audio link of Dr. Snodgrass lecturing in 1960)