William Stimpson
Encyclopedia
William Stimpson was a noted American
scientist
.
, Massachusetts
to Herbert Hathorne Stimpson and Mary Ann Devereau Brewer. The Stimpson
s were of the old colonial and Revolutionary stock of Massachusetts, the earliest known member of the family being James Stimpson, who was married in 1661, in Milton. His mother died at an early age. William Stimpson's father was an ingenious inventor, and a leading merchant of Boston in the mid decades of the nineteenth century. It was he who invented the "Stimpson range" famous in its day throughout New England. He also made improvements in rifles, devised the first sheet-iron cooking stove
, and suggested the placing of the flange on the inside of railway car wheels instead of on the outside, as had been the custom. His son was to inherit his energy, love of social life, enthusiasm
, arid brilliant wit
.
Stimpson's father moved from Roxbury and built a house in the village of Cambridge. When fourteen years of age he read with delight Edwin Swett's work upon geology
, and soon after this a copy of Augustus Addison Gould
's Report on the Invertebrata of Massachusetts filled him with exultant enthusiasm.
He graduated from the Cambridge High School
in 1848, winning the gold medal, the highest prize of the school. In September, 1848, he entered the Cambridge Latin School, and that he did well in his studies we have good evidence in the mastery he displays in the use of Latin in the description of marine animals in his Prodromus of 1857-60.
He studied under the great naturalist Louis Agassiz
.
He focused most of his studies on marine biology
, particularly invertebrates. Starting when he was 21 years old, from 1853 to 1856, he collected various specimens in the Pacific Northwest
. He then settled in Washington, D.C.
, where he founded the Megatherium Club
at the Smithsonian Institution
. When fellow club member Robert Kennicott
left his post as director of the Academy of Science
in Chicago
, Stimpson went to that city to take his place. The academy was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire
of 1871, and almost all of Stimpson's works and specimens were lost. He died the following year of tuberculosis
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
.
Biography
Stimpson was born in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, 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...
to Herbert Hathorne Stimpson and Mary Ann Devereau Brewer. The Stimpson
Stimpson
Stimpson is a surname, and may refer to:* Charles R. Stimpson, U.S. Navy fighter ace* Jodie Stimpson, a British professional triathlete* Tim Stimpson, rugby player* William Stimpson, scientistAs a given name:...
s were of the old colonial and Revolutionary stock of Massachusetts, the earliest known member of the family being James Stimpson, who was married in 1661, in Milton. His mother died at an early age. William Stimpson's father was an ingenious inventor, and a leading merchant of Boston in the mid decades of the nineteenth century. It was he who invented the "Stimpson range" famous in its day throughout New England. He also made improvements in rifles, devised the first sheet-iron cooking stove
Kitchen stove
A kitchen stove, cooking stove, cookstove, or cooker is a kitchen appliance designed for the purpose of cooking food. Kitchen stoves rely on the application of direct heat for the cooking process and may also contain an oven, used for baking.In the industrialized world, as stoves replaced open...
, and suggested the placing of the flange on the inside of railway car wheels instead of on the outside, as had been the custom. His son was to inherit his energy, love of social life, enthusiasm
Enthusiasm
Enthusiasm originally meant inspiration or possession by a divine afflatus or by the presence of a god. Johnson's Dictionary, the first comprehensive dictionary of the English language, defines enthusiasm as "a vain belief of private revelation; a vain confidence of divine favour or...
, arid brilliant wit
Wit
Wit is a form of intellectual humour, and a wit is someone skilled in making witty remarks. Forms of wit include the quip and repartee.-Forms of wit:...
.
Stimpson's father moved from Roxbury and built a house in the village of Cambridge. When fourteen years of age he read with delight Edwin Swett's work upon geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, and soon after this a copy of Augustus Addison Gould
Augustus Addison Gould
Augustus Addison Gould was an American conchologist and malacologist.-Biography:...
's Report on the Invertebrata of Massachusetts filled him with exultant enthusiasm.
He graduated from the Cambridge High School
Cambridge High School
- In the United States :*Cambridge High School in Cambridge, Idaho *Cambridge High School in Cambridge, Illinois *Cambridge High School in Cambridge, Nebraska *Cambridge High School in Cambridge, Ohio *Cambridge High School in Cambridge, Wisconsin...
in 1848, winning the gold medal, the highest prize of the school. In September, 1848, he entered the Cambridge Latin School, and that he did well in his studies we have good evidence in the mastery he displays in the use of Latin in the description of marine animals in his Prodromus of 1857-60.
He studied under the great naturalist Louis Agassiz
Louis Agassiz
Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a Swiss paleontologist, glaciologist, geologist and a prominent innovator in the study of the Earth's natural history. He grew up in Switzerland and became a professor of natural history at University of Neuchâtel...
.
He focused most of his studies on marine biology
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
, particularly invertebrates. Starting when he was 21 years old, from 1853 to 1856, he collected various specimens in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. He then settled in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where he founded the Megatherium Club
Megatherium Club
The Megatherium Club was founded by William Stimpson. It was a group of Washington, D.C.-based scientists who were attracted to that city by the Smithsonian Institution's rapidly growing collection, from 1857 to 1866....
at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. When fellow club member Robert Kennicott
Robert Kennicott
Robert Kennicott was an American naturalist.-Biography:Kennicott was born in New Orleans and grew up in "West Northfield" , Illinois, a town in the prairie north of the then nascent city of Chicago....
left his post as director of the Academy of Science
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum - The Museum of the Chicago Academy of Sciences is a nature museum located in Chicago, Illinois. The museum, which opened in a new facility in October 1999, is located at the intersection of Fullerton Parkway and Cannon Drive in Lincoln Park. The museum focuses on...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Stimpson went to that city to take his place. The academy was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about in Chicago, Illinois. Though the fire was one of the largest U.S...
of 1871, and almost all of Stimpson's works and specimens were lost. He died the following year of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
Species named for him
- Rare Hawaiian Goby Fish Sicydium stimpsoni Gill, 1860
- Eel Bathycongrus stimpsoni Fowler, 1934
- Sun Starfish Solaster stimpsoni
- Stimpson coastal shrimp Heptacarpus stimpsoni
- Fossil - small aquatic arthropod Acanthotelson stimpsoni Meek & Worthen
- Striped sunstar Solaster stimpsoni
- Clam Mercenaria stimpsoni
- Yellow Cone Conus stimpsoniConus stimpsoniConus stimpsoni is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Conidae, the cone snails and their allies.Like all species within the genus Conus, these snails are predatory and venomous. They are capable of "stinging" humans, therefore live ones should be handled carefully or...
DallW. H. DallWilliam Healey Dall was an American naturalist, a prominent malacologist, and one of the earliest scientific explorers of interior Alaska...
, 1902 - Eyespot Rock Shrimp Sicyonia stimpsoni Bouvier, 1905
- Nudibranch mollusc Coryphella stimpsoni (Verrill 1879)
- Gastropod Pteropurpura stimpsoniPteropurpura stimpsoniPteropurpura stimpsoni is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Muricidae, the murex snails or rock snails....
(A. AdamsArthur Adams (zoologist)Arthur Adams was an English physician and naturalist.Adams was assistant surgeon on board H.M.S. "Actaeon" in company with HMS Samarang in the British Navy during the survey of the Malay Archipelago, the Japan Sea, Korea and China,from 1843 to 1846. He edited the Zoology of the voyage of H.M.S....
, 1863) - Gastropod Turritellopsis stimpsoni (DallW. H. DallWilliam Healey Dall was an American naturalist, a prominent malacologist, and one of the earliest scientific explorers of interior Alaska...
, 1919)