Simon Henry Gage

Simon Henry Gage
Born 20 May 1851
Milford Township, Otsego County, New York
Died October 20, 1944 (aged 93)
Citizenship United States
Nationality American
Fields Microscopy, Histology, Natural History
Alma mater Cornell University
Known for Author of The Microscope

Simon Henry Gage (May 20, 1851 – October 20, 1944) was a Professor of Anatomy, Histology, and Embryology at Cornell University and an important figure in the history of American microscopy.[1] His book, The Microscope appeared in seventeen editions. In 1931, a volume of The American Journal of Anatomy was dedicated to Gage on the occasion of his eightieth birthday.[2]

Personal life

Simon Henry Gage was born on May 20, 1851 in Milford Township, Otsego County, New York. He was the son of Henry van Tassel Gage and Lucy Ann Grover Gage.[3] Simon Henry Gage attended Charlottesville Seminary and the State Normal School at Albany. In December 1881, he married Susanna Stuart Phelps[4][5] of Morrisville, New York, one of his students, who became an accomplished embryologist. They had one son, Henry Phelps Gage, who was born in October 4, 1886. Susanna died in 1915, and in 1933, Gage married Clara Covert Starrett of Interlaken, New York.[6]

University Life

In 1873, Gage entered Cornell University and graduated in 1877 with a B. S. in Natural History after writing a thesis on the life history of the Cayuga Lake Stargazer (Cottus). As an undergraduate, Gage worked in the Department of Anatomy with Burt Green Wilder teaching in the newly introduced biology courses. In the fall of 1877, Gage became an instructor of Comparative Anatomy and Microscopy. In 1881, Gage became an Assistant Professor of Physiology and Lecturer in Microscopical Technology. In 1889, Gage became an Associate Professor of Physiology and Lecturer on Microscopical Technology and in 1893, Gage became an Associate Professor of Anatomy, Histology, and Embryology. In 1895, Gage became a Professor of Anatomy, Histology, and Embryology. In 1908, Gage retired as Professor Emeritus of Histology and Embryology.[7] Gage came out of retirement in 1918 returning to teaching as a result of the shortage of teachers caused by World War I. In addition to his work on microscopy and optic projection, Gage did research on the newt, toad, lamprey, on fat digestion and on the pancreas.[8]

In 1893, Gage and John Henry Comstock founded the Comstock Publishing Company in order to make textbooks on microscopy, histology, and entomology available at a reasonable price to students and to publish the works of Anna Botsford Comstock on nature study. In 1931, Gage gave the company to Cornell University as a gift. Gage, along with Luzerne Corville and the architect, William H. Miller, designed Stimson Hall, which housed the Cornell Medical College. In 1915, Gage and his son started a memorial fund for Susanna Phelps Gage that was used to build a room in Clara Dickson Hall, the new dormatory for women. In 1918, they endowed the Susanna Phelps Gage Endowment for research in physics. Gage served as the faculty representative to the Cornell University Board of Trustees from 1921-1922. Gage was instrumental in starting the Flower Library in the Veterinary College of Cornell University in 1897. Gage served as the responsible librarian of the Van Cleef Memorial Library of medicine in Stimson Hall from 1922-1944. Upon his death in 1944, Gage donated his brain to the Wilder Brain Collection at Cornell University where it can still be seen on the second floor of Uris Hall. Gage's personal book collection and papers can be found in the Rare and Manuscript Collections[9] of the Cornell University Library.

Microscopy

Gage was active in the American Microscopical Society since its founding. Gage was elected President of the American Microscopical Society twice, in 1895 and in 1906. Gage wrote seventeen editions of The Microscope,[10][11] a series of editions that traced the evolution of microscopy, and which included the Darkfield [12] and the Ultra-Violet [13] editions.[14][15]

Microscope by Louis Ginsberg

A lost poem, entitled, Microscope written by Louis Ginsberg, father of beat poet Allen Ginsberg, was found in a copy of the seventeenth edition of Gage's book, The Microscope in the Rare and Manuscript Collections at Cornell University.[16][17][18]

Publications

RICHARDS, O. W., editor (1964). Microscopy in America (1830-1945) By Simon Henry Gage. Transactions of the American Microscopical Society, LXXXIII, No. 4, Supplement, October 1964, 125 p. www.jstor.org

Research papers

References

  1. ↑ Delly, John Gustav. "Simon Henry Gage". Modern Microscopy. Retrieved 2013-02-15.
  2. ↑ Kingsbury, B. F. "Professor Simon Henry Gage, An Appreciation".
  3. ↑ Leonard, John (ed) (1908). Who's Who in New York City and State, Volume 4. New York City: Hamersly & Co. p. 522.
  4. ↑ Oakes, Elizabeth H. (2007). Encyclopedia of World Scientists, Revised Edition, pages 258-259. New York, New York: Infobase Publishing.
  5. ↑ Phelps, Susanna Stuart (1880). The Influence of the Study of Physical Phenomena upon Character. Rare and Manuscript Collections: Thesis, Cornell University.
  6. ↑ BENSLEY, R. R.; Kinsbury, B. F. and BENSLEY, R. R., B. F. KINGSBURY and G. L. STREETER (1945). "Simon Henry Gage. 1851-1944.". Anatomical Record 92 (3): 306–309. doi:10.1002/ar.1090920312.
  7. ↑ "Cornell University Faculty Memorial Statement".
  8. ↑ Gage, Simon Henry. "Collected Reprints Volume 3.". Retrieved 2003-02-15.
  9. ↑ "The Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections". Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  10. ↑ Anon. (1892). Popular Science 41 (May): 134. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ M., B. D. (1911). "The Microscope. Simon Henry Gage. Comstock Publishing Co, Ithaca, New York". Anatomical Record 5: 562. doi:10.1002/ar.1090051205.
  12. ↑ Gage, Simon Henry (1925). The Microscope. Darkfield (14th) Edition. Ithaca, New York: Comstock Publishing Company.
  13. ↑ Gage, Simon Henry (1932). The Microscope. Ultra-Violet (15th) Edition. Ithaca, New York: Comstock Publishing Company.
  14. ↑ McClung, C. E. (1932). "The Microscope. Simon Henry Gage. Ultra-violet Edition (15th). Ithaca, N. Y. The Comstock Publishing Co. 1932". Anatomical Record 53 (1): 103–104. doi:10.1002/ar.1090530110.
  15. ↑ Richtmyer, F. K. (1932). "The Microscope. By Simon Henry Gage, Emeritus Professor of Histology". Journal of the Optical Society of America 22: 499.
  16. ↑ Laughlin, Gary J. (2013). "Editorial: Microscopical Verse". The Microscope 61: ii. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  17. ↑ CALS Notes 10/27/2013. "Focusing in on a Forgotten Poem". Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  18. ↑ Wayne, Randy (2013). ""Microscope" A Lost Poem by Louis Ginsberg". The Microscope. 61(2): 85–87. Retrieved 28 October 2013.

Obituaries

External links