Kumar Krishna (21 June 1928-19 September 2014) was an American entomologist of Indian origin. He was an expert on the termites and published the definitive systematic treatment of the termites of the world in a seven volume ''Treatise on the Isoptera of the world'' in 2013 written with collaborators.
Kumar was born in
Rangoon
Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military governme ...
and grew up in
Dehra Dun
Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...
where his father lived as an army physician who had served as a major in World War I. Kumar studied at the
Agra University
Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, formerly Agra University, is an Autonomous University located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. The university is named after Bhimrao Ambedkar, Indian scholar, social reformer, and the architect of the Indian Consti ...
, receiving a Bachelor of Science in 1950 followed by a Master's degree from the
University of Lucknow
The University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is a public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Founded in 1920, the University of Lucknow is one of the oldest government owned institutions of higher ...
in 1952. He worked as a research assistant at the
Forest Research Institute to
Mithan Lal Roonwal
Mithan Lal Roonwal (18 September 1908 – 22 July 1990) was an Indian zoologist and director of the Zoological Survey of India. Roonwal studied a range of taxa from termites to mammals. His landmark works were on the biology of termites and a mon ...
, a specialist on termites and became very interested in the group. He moved to the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
in 1954 and then moved to the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
to pursue a Ph.D. under
Alfred E. Emerson
Alfred Edwards Emerson, Jr. (December 31, 1896 – October 3, 1976) was an American biologist, Professor of Zoology at the University of Chicago, a noted entomologist and leading authority on termites.
Life and work
Emerson was born in Itha ...
(1896–1976). His research was on the dry wood termites in the family
Kalotermitidae
Kalotermitidae is a family of termites, commonly known as drywood termites. Kalotermitidae includes 21 genera and 419 species. The family has a cosmopolitan circumtropical distribution, and is found in functionally arid environments.
Biology
The ...
. He then worked at the City College of the City University of New York from 1962 while also being a research associate at the
American Museum of Natural History. He became an assistant professor in 1964 and a full professor in 1973.
Along with F.M. Weesner he published a two volume work on the ''Biology of Termites'' in 1970. After retiring from college in 1996 he began to work on the termites of the world which was published on April 25, 2013 in seven volumes consisting 2704 pages. His collection of termites from around the world is the most comprehensive one and is now part of the AMNH. Nearly 14 insect taxa are named after him. He was invited to write the entry on termites in the 15th edition of
Encyclopedia Britannica
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
.
Kumar met Valerie Smith at the University of Chicago and the two got married. Valerie was a professor of English working alongside Kumar at the City College and helped him produce the ''Treatise''. He took an interest in classical music.
He died from multiple cancers at his home in Manhattan.
References
External links
Krishna, Kumar.; Grimaldi, David A.; Krishna, Valerie.; Engel, Michael S. (2013) Treatise on the Isoptera of the world.Publication list{{Authority control
American entomologists