Theodore Nicholas Gill (March 21, 1837 – September 25, 1914) was an American ichthyologist,

mammalogist In zoology, mammalogy is the study of mammals – a class of vertebrates with characteristics such as homeothermic metabolism, fur, four-chambered hearts, and complex nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part ...

malacologist Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams, ...

and librarian.

Career

Born and educated in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

under private tutors, Gill early showed interest in natural history. He was associated with J. Carson Brevoort in the arrangement of the latter's

entomological Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

and ichthyological collections before going to

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

in 1863 to work at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. He catalogued mammals,

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

es and

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

s most particularly although maintaining proficiency in other orders of animals. He was librarian at the Smithsonian and also senior assistant to the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

. He was elected as a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1867. Gill was professor of

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

. He was also a member of the

Megatherium Club The Megatherium Club was founded by William Stimpson. It was a group of Washington, D.C.-based scientists who were attracted to that city by the Smithsonian Institution's rapidly growing collection, from 1857 to 1866. Many of the members had no f ...

at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Fellow members frequently mocked him for his vanity. He was president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1897. He was a founding member of the

Cosmos Club The Cosmos Club is a 501(c)(7) private social club in Washington, D.C. that was founded by John Wesley Powell in 1878 as a gentlemen's club for those interested in science. Among its stated goals is, "The advancement of its members in science, ...

Publications

Besides 400 separate papers on scientific subjects, his major publications include: * 1871. ''Arrangements of the Families of Mollusks'' 49 pp. * 1872. ''Arrangement of the Families of Mammals'' 98 pp. * 1872. ''Arrangement of the Families of Fishes'' * 1875. ''Catalogue of the Fishes of the East Coast of North America'' * 1882. ''Bibliography of the Fishes of the Pacific of the United States to the End of 1879'' * ''Reports on Zoology'' for the annual volumes of the Smithsonian Institution from 1879

References

*Abbott, R.T., and M.E. Young (eds.). 1973. American Malacologists: A national register of professional and amateur malacologists and private shell collectors and biographies of early American mollusk workers born between 1618 and 1900. American Malacologists, Falls Church, Virginia. Consolidated/Drake Press, Philadelphia. 494 pp. *Obituary in ''The Auk,'' October 1914, Number 4. *Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, edited by James Grant Wilson, John Fiske and Stanley L. Klos. Six volumes, New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1887–1889

External links

Smithsonian biography of Theodore GillA pdf biography of T.N. Gill
at the National Academy of Sciences webstire {{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Theodore American ichthyologists American malacologists American mammalogists American taxonomists American librarians 1837 births 1914 deaths Scientists from New York City George Washington University faculty

Career

Publications

See also

References

External links