William Stimpson

William Stimpson (February 14, 1832 – May 26, 1872) was an American naturalist and zoologist, known for his scientific descriptions of crustaceans and Mollusca mollusks. From 1866 to 1872 he was the director of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum Chicago Academy of Sciences. In 1868 Stimpson was elected a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Quotes There is no part of the world in which so large accessions to our knowledge of Zoology and Botany have been made within the past five years, as that part of our continent which lies west of the Rocky Mountains. The results of the numerous government surveys, as elaborated by Spencer Fullerton Baird Baird and Charles Frédéric Girard Girard, and the investigations of John Cassin Cassin, William Orville Ayres Ayres, and the Californian naturalists, have brought to light hundreds of new and interesting Vertebrates, while the Insects have been extensively studied by John Eatton Le Conte Le Conte and the Vermes Testacea by Augustus Addison Gould Gould. The Marine Invertebrata have however as yet excited but little attention among our naturalists. With the exception of the descriptions of Crustacea by James Dwight Dana Dana and John Witt Randall Randall, nothing has been done here in this department, while in Europe several articles having more or less relation to the subject have recently appeared in various scientific journals. The Crustacea and Echinodermata of the Pacific Shores of North America Houghton & Company 1857 https://books.google.com/books?id=-6E-AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA3 3 (92 pages; extract from Journal of the Boston Society of Natural History The Journal of the Boston Society of Natural History, vol. VI) Pelagic animals are particularly abundant at Grand Manan, on account of the proximity of deep water, and by far the greater part of the species were obtained by the used of the Marine biology dredge dredge. Dredging in this region is attended with dangers, to guard against which some some little foresight is necessary. The boat should always be provided with a compass, even in going short distances from land, as the fogs are very thick in summer, and are suddenly formed. The dredger must also keep an eyer to windward, as the approach of a fog bank may be generally seen at least some minutes beforehand, so that a course may be taken for home; unless, indeed, he be something of a pilot himself, of have one with him, when he may often continue his operations notwithstanding the obscurity. A "horn," consisting of a Aliger gigas Strombus gigas with the apex knocked off, should also be provide, to be used when lost in a fog, for, when blown, it will be answered according to the the humane custom of this region, by any who may hear it, whether on shore or in boats. Synopsis of the Marine Invertebrata of Grand Manan: Or the Region about the Mouth of the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick Volume 6, Issue 5 of Smithsonian contributions to knowledge; Smithsonian Institution publication No. 50 Smithsonian Institution 1853 https://books.google.com/books?id=-kRUAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA6 6 (66 pages) Quotes about William Stimpson In July, 1852, Stimpson made his second visit to Eastport, Maine Eastport and Grand Manan, returning in October to Agassiz’s laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge. Then, on November 23, 1852, there came the most significant event in his scientific career, for he was appointed naturalist upon the projected United States Exploring Expedition United States North Pacific Exploring Expedition under Cadwalader Ringgold Commodore Ringgold, North_Pacific_Exploring_and_Surveying_Expedition later commanded by Captain John Rodgers.In December, 1852, Stimpson went to Washington to prepare for the duties of his new position, and on March 21, 1853, he joined the USS Vincennes (1826) U. S. S. Vincennes in New York, sailing from Norfolk, Virginia, in May.Stimpson remained four years with this expedition, visiting Japan, Bering Strait, and many other regions of the North Pacific. During this time he collected 5,300 specimens, 1,970 being Vermes testaceous mollusks; and he himself made special notes and drawings on over 3,000 specimens. Most of his drawings were colored, and related to various groups, including Ascidiacea Ascidians, Planarians, Nemertea Nemertians, Annelids, Actiniidae Actinians, Alcyonacea Alcyonaria, Crustacean Crustacea, living mollusks, etc. He realized that a special study of invertebrates, and of the smaller and less conspicuous animals, would yield results of the greatest value, and it is pathetic to think that just as this greatest single labor of his life was all but ready for publication the Great Chicago Fire Chicago fire destroyed not only these drawings and manuscripts, but also the specimens themselves. Alfred G. Mayor Alfred Goldsborough Mayor, Biographical Memoir of Willam Stimpson Biographical Memoirs of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences Vol. 8 1919 https://books.google.com/books?id=uLgAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA423 419–433 (quote from p. 423; pdf at biographicalmemoirs.org) External links William Stimpson papers Museum Collections and Archives, Chicago Academy of Sciences / Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Chicago, Illinois https://d2rqvd0kuag1qx.cloudfront.net/FindingAid_StimpsonWilliam.pdf Ronald Scott Vasile, William Stimpson and the Golden Age of American Natural History Cornell University Press 2018 9781609092405 https://books.google.com/books/about/William_Stimpson_and_the_Golden_Age_of_A.html?id=vq68DwAAQBAJ (308 pages) Category:1832 births Category:1872 deaths Category:Curators Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Category:Naturalists from the United States Category:Scientists from Boston Category:Zoologists from the United States