Alpheus Hyatt
Encyclopedia
Alpheus Hyatt was an American zoologist and palaeontologist
.
to Alpheus Hyatt and Harriet Randolph (King) Hyatt. He briefly attended the Maryland Military Academy and Yale University
, and after graduating from Harvard University in 1862, he enlisted as a private in the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry for the Civil War, emerging with the rank of captain.
After the war he worked for a time at the Essex Institute (now the Peabody Essex Museum
in Salem, Massachusetts
. He and a colleague founded American Naturalist
and Hyatt served as editor from 1867 to 1870. He became a professor of paleontology
and zoology
at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1870, where he taught for eighteen years, and was professor of biology and zoology at Boston University
from 1877 until his death in 1902. He also served as curator of the Boston Society of Natural History
, and established a laboratory at the Norwood-Hyatt House
in 1879 for the study of Marine Biology in Annisquam
, Massachusetts
. The River Road building gave him access to the Annisquam River, a salt water estuary. This enterprise was moved to Woods Hole and became the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory
in 1888.
Hyatt studied under Louis Agassiz
and was a proponent of Neo-Lamarckism with Edward Drinker Cope
. In 1875 he was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Sciences
and in 1898 received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Brown University
.
He and his wife, Audella Beebe, were the parents of famed sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington
; their other children were Harriet Randolph Hyatt Mayor, who was also a sculptor though less well known, (and mother of the art historian A. Hyatt Mayor
),and Alpheus Hyatt III.
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
.
Biography
Alpheus Hyatt II was born 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....
to Alpheus Hyatt and Harriet Randolph (King) Hyatt. He briefly attended the Maryland Military Academy and Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, and after graduating from Harvard University in 1862, he enlisted as a private in the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry for the Civil War, emerging with the rank of captain.
After the war he worked for a time at the Essex Institute (now the Peabody Essex Museum
Peabody Essex Museum
The Peabody Essex Museum , originally the Peabody Museum of Salem and the Essex Institute, in Salem, Massachusetts is the oldest continuously operating museum in the United States, and holds one of the major collections of Asian art in the US; its total holdings include about 1.3 million pieces, as...
in Salem, Massachusetts
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
. He and a colleague founded American Naturalist
American Naturalist
The American Naturalist is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1867. It is published by the University of Chicago Press on behalf of the American Society of Naturalists. The journal covers research in ecology, evolutionary biology, population, and integrative biology....
and Hyatt served as editor from 1867 to 1870. He became a professor of paleontology
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
and zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1870, where he taught for eighteen years, and was professor of biology and zoology at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
from 1877 until his death in 1902. He also served as curator of the Boston Society of Natural History
Boston Society of Natural History
The Boston Society of Natural History in Boston, Massachusetts, was an organization dedicated to the study and promotion of natural history. It published a scholarly journal and established a museum. In its first few decades, the society occupied several successive locations in Boston's Financial...
, and established a laboratory at the Norwood-Hyatt House
Norwood-Hyatt House
Norwood-Hyatt House is a historic house at 704 Washington Street in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Alpheus Hyatt purchased the house in 1878. He started the first marine biological laboratory in the country here in Annisquam, Massachusetts, a village of Gloucester. It later moved to Woods Hole and was...
in 1879 for the study of Marine Biology in Annisquam
Annisquam, Massachusetts
Annisquam is a small waterfront neighborhood located in the City of Gloucester located on the North Shore of Massachusetts.-History:The name "Annisquam" comes from an Algonquian term meaning "top of the rock, containing , "on top of", and , "rock". The first European settlement in Annisquam was...
, 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...
. The River Road building gave him access to the Annisquam River, a salt water estuary. This enterprise was moved to Woods Hole and became the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory
Marine Biological Laboratory
The Marine Biological Laboratory is an international center for research and education in biology, biomedicine and ecology. Founded in 1888, the MBL is the oldest independent marine laboratory in the Americas, taking advantage of a coastal setting in the Cape Cod village of Woods Hole, Massachusetts...
in 1888.
Hyatt studied under 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...
and was a proponent of Neo-Lamarckism with Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist, as well as a noted herpetologist and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science; he published his first scientific paper at the age of nineteen...
. In 1875 he was elected a fellow of the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
and in 1898 received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
.
He and his wife, Audella Beebe, were the parents of famed sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington
Anna Hyatt Huntington
Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington was an American sculptor.-Life and career:Huntington was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her father, Alpheus Hyatt, was a professor of paleontology and zoology at Harvard University and MIT, and served as a contributing factor to her early interest in animals and...
; their other children were Harriet Randolph Hyatt Mayor, who was also a sculptor though less well known, (and mother of the art historian A. Hyatt Mayor
A. Hyatt Mayor
A. Hyatt Mayor was an American art historian and curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a leading figure in the study of prints, both old master prints and popular prints....
),and Alpheus Hyatt III.