Edward Loranus Rice
Encyclopedia
Edward Loranus Rice was a biologist and educator who served as the acting president of Ohio Wesleyan University
. He was best known for his 1924 debate with William Jennings Bryan
on the topic of biological evolution and serving as a scientific consultant to Clarence Darrow
before the 1925 Scopes trial
.
, March 18, 1871 to William North Rice
and Elizabeth Wing (Crowell) Rice. He received his A.B. degree from Wesleyan University
in Middletown, CT in 1892. He earned two doctoral degrees, including a Ph.D. degree in Zoology in 1895, at the University of Munich and a Sc.D. in 1927, from Wesleyan University.
1896-98 before becoming a Professor of Biology at Ohio Wesleyan University
in 1898 and serving until his retirement in 1941. He served as Acting President of Ohio Wesleyan University from 1938 to 1939. After his retirement he returned to teaching as a War Emergency Professor at Ohio Wesleyan from 1942-1945. He was Visiting Professor at Ohio State University
Lake Laboratory on Lake Erie
at Cedar Point, Sandusky Bay during the summers of 1905, 1906, 1908, 1909, and 1912.
Dr. Rice was honored with membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Society
and Sigma Xi
. He elected a fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science
(AAAS) of which he was Vice President and Chairman of the Biological Sciences Section in 1903. He held memberships in American Society of Naturalists
, American Genetic Association
, American Association of Anatomists
, and American Society of Zoologists. He was a Fellow in the Zoology Section, and President of the Ohio Academy of Sciences from 1906 to 1907, and served as Secretary from 1912 to 1923.
Like his father William North Rice
, Dr. Rice was most noted for his work to reconcile scientific observations with religious faith. At the 1924 meeting of the AAAS, he debated William Jennings Bryan
on biological evolution and was a scientific consultant for Clarence Darrow
before the 1925 Scopes trial
. He is also well known for authoring a textbook, An Introduction to Biology in 1935, and he contributed numerous papers to scientific journals.
His daughter Charlotte Rice (1904-1990) married political scientist and Princeton
and Denison University
professor Albert Andrews Roden (1906-2002).
, an English immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony
, as follows:
Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges...
. He was best known for his 1924 debate with William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
on the topic of biological evolution and serving as a scientific consultant to Clarence Darrow
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Seward Darrow was an American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union, best known for defending teenage thrill killers Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks and defending John T...
before the 1925 Scopes trial
Scopes Trial
The Scopes Trial—formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes and informally known as the Scopes Monkey Trial—was a landmark American legal case in 1925 in which high school science teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act which made it unlawful to...
.
Early life and education
Edward Loranus Rice was born in Middletown, ConnecticutMiddletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...
, March 18, 1871 to William North Rice
William North Rice
William North Rice was an American geologist, educator, and Methodist minister and theologian concerned with reconciliation of science and religious faith.-Early life and education:...
and Elizabeth Wing (Crowell) Rice. He received his A.B. degree from Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
in Middletown, CT in 1892. He earned two doctoral degrees, including a Ph.D. degree in Zoology in 1895, at the University of Munich and a Sc.D. in 1927, from Wesleyan University.
Academic career
Dr. Rice began his 50 consecutive years of teaching as Assistant Professor at Wesleyan University in 1896. He soon became a Professor of Biology and Geology at Allegheny CollegeAllegheny College
Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the town of Meadville. Founded in 1815, the college has about 2,100 undergraduate students.-Early history:...
1896-98 before becoming a Professor of Biology at Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges...
in 1898 and serving until his retirement in 1941. He served as Acting President of Ohio Wesleyan University from 1938 to 1939. After his retirement he returned to teaching as a War Emergency Professor at Ohio Wesleyan from 1942-1945. He was Visiting Professor at Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
Lake Laboratory on Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
at Cedar Point, Sandusky Bay during the summers of 1905, 1906, 1908, 1909, and 1912.
Dr. Rice was honored with membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Society
Phi Beta Kappa Society
The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic honor society. Its mission is to "celebrate and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences"; and induct "the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at America’s leading colleges and universities." Founded at The College of William and...
and Sigma Xi
Sigma Xi
Sigma Xi: The Scientific Research Society is a non-profit honor society which was founded in 1886 at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a handful of graduate students. Members elect others on the basis of their research achievements or potential...
. He elected a fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
(AAAS) of which he was Vice President and Chairman of the Biological Sciences Section in 1903. He held memberships in American Society of Naturalists
American Society of Naturalists
The American Society of Naturalists was founded in 1883 and is one of the oldest professional societies dedicated to the biological sciences in North America...
, American Genetic Association
American Genetic Association
The American Genetic Association , formerly the American Breeders' Association, founded 1903, is a USA-based learned society dedicated to the study of genetics. It publishes the Journal of Heredity-History:...
, American Association of Anatomists
American Association of Anatomists
The American Association of Anatomists, based in Bethesda, MD, was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1888 for the "advancement of anatomical science." AAA is the professional home for an international community of biomedical researchers and educators focusing on anatomical form and function.In...
, and American Society of Zoologists. He was a Fellow in the Zoology Section, and President of the Ohio Academy of Sciences from 1906 to 1907, and served as Secretary from 1912 to 1923.
Like his father William North Rice
William North Rice
William North Rice was an American geologist, educator, and Methodist minister and theologian concerned with reconciliation of science and religious faith.-Early life and education:...
, Dr. Rice was most noted for his work to reconcile scientific observations with religious faith. At the 1924 meeting of the AAAS, he debated William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
on biological evolution and was a scientific consultant for Clarence Darrow
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Seward Darrow was an American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union, best known for defending teenage thrill killers Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering 14-year-old Robert "Bobby" Franks and defending John T...
before the 1925 Scopes trial
Scopes Trial
The Scopes Trial—formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes and informally known as the Scopes Monkey Trial—was a landmark American legal case in 1925 in which high school science teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act which made it unlawful to...
. He is also well known for authoring a textbook, An Introduction to Biology in 1935, and he contributed numerous papers to scientific journals.
Selected publications
- Rice, E.L. (1908). Gill development in MytilusMytilus (mollusc)Mytilus is a cosmopolitan genus of medium-sized to large edible saltwater mussels, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Mytilidae.-Species:Species within the genus Mytilus include:* Mytilus californianus Conrad, 1837 - California mussel...
. Biological Bulletin 14(2):61-77. - Rice, E.L. (1916). The quarter-centennial anniversary of the Ohio Academy of Sciences. Science 43(1102):217-218.
- Rice, E.L. (1920). The development of the skull of the skinkSkinkSkinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae. Together with several other lizard families, including Lacertidae , they comprise the superfamily or infraorder Scincomorpha...
, EumecesEumecesThe genus Eumeces skinks comprises four African to Middle-Eastern species.-Systematics:Two taxonomic revisions have been made in the 19th century regarding genus Eumeces. They both resulted in similar results; the genus is paraphyletic and must be sliced up into several different genera...
quinquelineatus L. Journal of Morphology 34(1):120-243. - Rice, E.L. (1925). DarwinCharles DarwinCharles 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...
and BryanWilliam Jennings BryanWilliam Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
: a study in method. Science 61(1575):243-250. - Rice, E.L. (1935). An Introduction to Biology. Ginn and Company, Boston. 602pp.
Family life
Dr. Rice married Sarah Langton Abbott on March 20, 1901 and they had two children, Charlotte Rice and William Abbott Rice. Dr. Rice died February 4, 1960. Upon his death, his body was donated to the University of Chicago College of Medicine, but a memorial monument was erected at Indian Hill Cemetery in Middletown, Connecticut. Rice's son, William Abbott Rice (1912-1991) was a professor of geology at Mount Union College in Alliance, OhioAlliance, Ohio
Alliance is a city in Stark and Mahoning counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 22,322 at the 2010 census. Alliance's nickname is "The Carnation City", and the city is home to the University of Mount Union....
His daughter Charlotte Rice (1904-1990) married political scientist and Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and Denison University
Denison University
Denison University is private, coeducational, and residential college of liberal arts and sciences founded in 1831. It is located in Granville, Ohio, United States, approximately 30 miles east of Columbus, the state capital...
professor Albert Andrews Roden (1906-2002).
Genealogy
Edward Loranus Rice was a direct descendant of Edmund RiceEdmund Rice (1638)
Edmund Rice , was an early immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony who was born in Suffolk, England, and lived in Stanstead, Suffolk and Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire prior to sailing with his family to America. He arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in summer or fall of 1638, presumed to be first...
, an English immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
, as follows:
- Edward Loranus Rice, son of
- William North RiceWilliam North RiceWilliam North Rice was an American geologist, educator, and Methodist minister and theologian concerned with reconciliation of science and religious faith.-Early life and education:...
(1845 – 1928) son of - William Rice (1821 – ca1890), son of
-
-
- William Rice (1788 – 1863), son of
- Nathan Rice (1760 – 1838), son of
- John Rice (1704 – 1771), son of
-
- Ephriam Rice (1665 – 1732), son of
- Thomas Rice (1625 – 1681), son of
-
- Edmund RiceEdmund Rice (1638)Edmund Rice , was an early immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony who was born in Suffolk, England, and lived in Stanstead, Suffolk and Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire prior to sailing with his family to America. He arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in summer or fall of 1638, presumed to be first...
(1594 – 1663)
- Edmund Rice
-