Charles Lee Remington
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Charles Lee Remington | |
 |
|
| Born | January 19, 1922 Reedville, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Died | May 31, 2007 Hamden, Connecticut |
| Occupation | Scientist |
| Spouse | Ellen Mahoney |
| Parents | Maud Remington Pardon Sheldon |
Charles Lee Remington (January 19, 1922 – May 31, 2007), an entomologist known for studies of butterflies and moths, was a Yale University professor, and is considered the father of modern lepidoptery. [1]
[edit] Biography
He was born born to Pardon Sheldon and Maud Remington in Reedville, Virginia, on January 19, 1922. His family then moved to St. Louis, Missouri. He grew up collecting butterflies with his father. He did his undergraduate studies at Principia College, where he received a B.S. in 1943. During his military service in World War II, he served as a medical entomologist, throughout the Pacific, researching insect-borne diseases and centipede bites in the Philippines. [2]
After the war, Remington studied for his doctorate at Harvard. He founded the Lepidopterists' Society with Harry Clench. Remington also started a friendship with Vladimir Nabokov who was a keen amateur butterfly collector. [2]
Dr Remington started teaching at Yale University in 1948. He proposed that there were geographic regions which he called suture zones where species tended to hybridize with close relatives. This idea was soon considered discredited but has been revived in more recent years. [2]
Remington is credited with developing the extensive insect collection held by the Peabody Museum of Natural History of more than a million insects. As at 2001, more than 270,000 butterflies and moths were held in the collection. [3]
Remington was also active in popularizing the study of insects among children and amateur enthusiasts, who he viewed as critical partners in preserving insect biodiversity. Among other activities, he established a "Periodical Cicada Preserve" in Hamden, Connecticut to slow declines of these insects.
In addition to his study of insects, Remington was also greatly concerned about overpopulation issues. He was a founder, along with Richard Bowers and Paul R. Ehrlich, of Zero Population Growth, and also served on the Board of Advisors of the Carrying Capacity Network.
He died on May 31, 2007, at age 85, in Hamden, Connecticut. [4]
[edit] References
- ^ Recalling Remington, Butterfly and Moth Expert. NPR (June 17, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-17. “This Father's Day, host Debbie Elliott has a remembrance of the father of modern lepidoptery. Yale professor Charles Lee Remington was one of the world's foremost experts on butterflies and moths. He died last month at the age of 85.”
- ^ a b c "Charles Lee Remington, Butterfly Expert, Dies at 85", New York Times, June 17, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-06-21. "Charles Lee Remington, the intellectual patriarch of modern American lepidopterology, the scientific study of butterflies and moths, died on May 31 in Hamden, Connecticut. He was 85. His death was confirmed by his wife, Ellen Mahoney."
- ^ Peabody's insects inspire fascination in scholars far and near. Yale (September 28, 2001). Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
- ^ In Memoriam: Naturalist Charles L. Remington. Yale. Retrieved on 2007-06-17. “Charles Lee Remington, emeritus professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, field naturalist and museum curator, died on May 31 at age 85 in Hamden, Connecticut. The Yale scientist was known for his eclectic research interests, his facility for integrating comparative information about animals and plants from far-flung sources, and his zeal for mentoring young scientists and introducing children to the world of insects.”
