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Samuel Hubbard Scudder

 

 
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Samuel Hubbard Scudder
 
 
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Samuel Hubbard Scudder was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 entomologist and palaeontologist. He was born 13 April 1837 in Boston, Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts

Boston is the State capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region, and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England." Boston city proper had a 2007 est...
 and died in the same city 17 May 1911.

Scudder may be most widely known for his essay on the importance of first-hand, careful observation in the natural sciences. The treatise on inductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning

Induction or inductive reasoning, sometimes called inductive logic, is reasoning which takes us "beyond the confines of our current evidence or knowledge to conclusions about the unknown." The premises of an inductive logical argument support the conclusion but do not entailment it; i.e....
, entitled "The Student, the Fish
Haemulidae

The grunts are a family, Haemulidae, of fishes in the order Perciformes. They are numerous and widespread, with about 150 species in 19 genera, found in tropical fresh, brackish and salt waters around the world....
, and Agassiz", reflects his initial experience under the tutelage of Louis Agassiz
Louis Agassiz

Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a paleontologist, glaciologist, and geologist, and was a prominent innovator in the study of the earth's natural history....
 at Harvard University
Harvard University

Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the Colonial Colleges institution of higher learning in the United States....
.

He graduated at Williams College
Williams College

Williams College is a private Liberal arts colleges in the United States located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Massachusetts.Williams was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams as a men's college, located in the Berkshires in northwestern Massachusetts, at the foot of Mount Greylock....
 in 1857 and at Harvard University
Harvard University

Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the Colonial Colleges institution of higher learning in the United States....
 in 1862, was a leading figure in American entomology from 1858, and the first North American insect palaeontologist.






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Samuel Hubbard Scudder was an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 entomologist and palaeontologist. He was born 13 April 1837 in Boston, Massachusetts
Boston, Massachusetts

Boston is the State capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region, and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England." Boston city proper had a 2007 est...
 and died in the same city 17 May 1911.

Scudder may be most widely known for his essay on the importance of first-hand, careful observation in the natural sciences. The treatise on inductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning

Induction or inductive reasoning, sometimes called inductive logic, is reasoning which takes us "beyond the confines of our current evidence or knowledge to conclusions about the unknown." The premises of an inductive logical argument support the conclusion but do not entailment it; i.e....
, entitled "The Student, the Fish
Haemulidae

The grunts are a family, Haemulidae, of fishes in the order Perciformes. They are numerous and widespread, with about 150 species in 19 genera, found in tropical fresh, brackish and salt waters around the world....
, and Agassiz", reflects his initial experience under the tutelage of Louis Agassiz
Louis Agassiz

Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a paleontologist, glaciologist, and geologist, and was a prominent innovator in the study of the earth's natural history....
 at Harvard University
Harvard University

Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the Colonial Colleges institution of higher learning in the United States....
.

He graduated at Williams College
Williams College

Williams College is a private Liberal arts colleges in the United States located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Massachusetts.Williams was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams as a men's college, located in the Berkshires in northwestern Massachusetts, at the foot of Mount Greylock....
 in 1857 and at Harvard University
Harvard University

Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the Colonial Colleges institution of higher learning in the United States....
 in 1862, was a leading figure in American entomology from 1858, and the first North American insect palaeontologist. He also undertook systematic work with Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insect that includes moths and butterfly. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterfly, skipper , and Hedylidae....
 (almost exclusively butterflies), Orthoptera
Orthoptera

The Orthoptera are an order of insects with paurometabolous or incomplete metamorphosis, including the grasshoppers, cricket s and locusts. Many insects in this order produce sound by rubbing their wings against each other or their legs, the wings or legs containing rows of corrugated bumps....
 , Mantodea andBlattoidea
Cockroaches

Cockroaches may refer to:*Cockroach, insects of the Order Blattodea*The Cockroaches, an Australian 1980s/90s pop band*Cockroaches , an EP by Necro...
 and fossil Arthropoda.

A student of Mark Hopkins
Mark Hopkins

Mark Hopkins, Junior was one of four principal investors who formed the Central Pacific Railroad along with Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker, and Collis Huntington in 1861....
 at Williams College
Williams College

Williams College is a private Liberal arts colleges in the United States located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Massachusetts.Williams was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams as a men's college, located in the Berkshires in northwestern Massachusetts, at the foot of Mount Greylock....
 and Louis Agassiz
Louis Agassiz

Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a paleontologist, glaciologist, and geologist, and was a prominent innovator in the study of the earth's natural history....
 at Harvard University
Harvard University

Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the Colonial Colleges institution of higher learning in the United States....
, Scudder was a prolific writer, publishing 791 papers between 1858-1902, on insect biogeography
Biogeography

Biogeography is the study of the distribution of biodiversity over space and time. It aims to reveal where organisms live, and at what abundance....
 and paleobiogeography, insect behavior ontogeny
Ontogeny

Ontogeny describes the origin and the development of an organism from the fertilize Ovum to its mature form. Ontogeny is studied in developmental biology, developmental psychology, developmental cognitive neuroscience, and developmental psychobiology....
 and phylogeny, insect songs, trace fossils, evolution
Evolution

In biology, evolution is change in the heritability trait of a population of organisms from one generation to the next. These changes are caused by a combination of three main processes: variation, reproduction, and selection....
, insect biology and economic entomology
Economic entomology

Economic entomology is a field of entomology, which involves the study of insects that are of benefit or those that cause harm to humans, domestic animals, and Crop ....
. He also wrote on ethnology
Ethnology

Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnicity, Race , and/or national divisions of humanity....
, general geology
Geology

Geology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitute the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structural geology, physical properties, dynamics, and History of the Earth of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed....
, and geography
Geography

Geography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth"....
.

His masterwork of fossil terrestrial arthropod
Arthropod

Arthropods are animals belonging to the Scientific classification Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others....
 research was the two-volume set Fossil Insects of North America: The Pre-tertiary Insects (1890) (a collection of his previous papers on Paleozoic
Paleozoic

The Paleozoic or Palaeozoic Era is the earliest of three geology Era of the Phanerozoic Eon . The Paleozoic spanned from roughly , and is subdivided into six period ; from oldest to youngest they are: the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian period, Carboniferous, and Permian...
 and Mesozoic
Mesozoic

The Mesozoic Era is one of three Geologic time scale of the Phanerozoic eon . The division of time into eras dates back to Giovanni Arduino, in the 18th century, although his original name for the era now called the 'Mesozoic' was 'Secondary' ....
 insects) and The Tertiary Insects of North America (1890)

He also published comprehensive reviews of the then-known fossil cockroaches of the world (1879), Carboniferous cockroaches of the United States (1890, 1895), and fossil terrestrial arthropods of the world (1886, 1891). Scudder's Nomenclator Zoologicus (1882-1884) was a seminal and comprehensive list of all generic and family names (Zoology including insects).

Scudder’s other contributions include: Curator, Librarian, Custodian, and President of the Boston Society of Natural History (1859-1870, 1880-1887); co-founder of the Cambridge Entomological Club and its journal Psyche
Psyche (entomological journal)

Psyche was founded in 1874 by the Cambridge Entomological Club as a "journal for the publication of biological contributions upon Arthropoda from any competent person"....
 (1874); General Secretary of the 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 between scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting science education and science outreach for the betterment of all humanity....
 (1875) (Vice-President (1894).); First editor of Science (1883-1885); United States Geological Survey
United States Geological Survey

The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it....
 Paleontologist (1886-1892); etal.

Works

  • The Student, the Fish
    Haemulidae

    The grunts are a family, Haemulidae, of fishes in the order Perciformes. They are numerous and widespread, with about 150 species in 19 genera, found in tropical fresh, brackish and salt waters around the world....
    , and Agassiz    , American Poems (3rd ed.; Boston: Houghton, Osgood & Co., 1879): pp. 450-54
  • Butterflies: Their Structure, Changes, and Life Histories (1881)
  • Nomenclator zoologicus : an alphabetical list of all generic names that have been employed by naturalists for recent and fossil animals from the earliest times to the close of the year 1879 Bulletin of the United States national museum Washington Government printing office, 1882. XIX-340 p. (1882). On line at Gallica
  • Butterflies of the Eastern United States and Canada (1889)
  • The Fossil Insects of North America (two volumes, 1890)
  • Index to the Known Fossil Insects of the World (1891)
  • Tertiary Rhynchophorous Coleoptera of the United States (1893)
  • The Life of a Butterfly (1893)
  • Frail Children of the Air: Excursions into the World of Butterflies (1895)
  • Revision of the Orthopteran Group Melanopli (1897)
  • Everyday Butterflies (1899)
  • Catalogue of the Described Orthoptera of the United States and Canada (1900)
  • Adephagous and Clavicorn Coleoptera from the Tertiary Deposits at Florissant, Colorado (1900)
  • Index to North American Orthoptera (1901)