Asa Fitch (February 24, 1809 – April 8, 1879) was a natural historian and entomologist from
Salem, New York
Salem is a town in eastern Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 2,612 at the 2020 census. The town of Salem contains a hamlet also named Salem, former ...
.
Biography
Asa Fitch was born at Fitch's Point,
Salem, New York
Salem is a town in eastern Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 2,612 at the 2020 census. The town of Salem contains a hamlet also named Salem, former ...
on February 24, 1809.
His early studies were of both natural history and medicine, which he studied at the newly formed
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...
, graduating in 1827. However, in 1838 he decided to start studying agriculture and
entomology
Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
. In 1838 he began to collect and study insects for New York state. In 1854 he became the first professional entomologist of New York State Agricultural Society (commissioned by the State of New York). This made him the first occupational entomologist in the United States.
His vast studies of many insects helped scientists to solve some of the problems of crop damage caused by insects. Many of his notebooks are now the property of the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
. Fitch also discovered the rodent
botfly
Botflies, also known as warble flies, heel flies, and gadflies, are flies of the family Oestridae. Their larvae are internal parasites of mammals, some species growing in the host's flesh and others within the gut. '' Dermatobia hominis'' is ...
''
Cuterebra emasculator'' in 1856. He died April 8, 1879, at his home in Salem, New York.
The
Martin–Fitch House and Asa Fitch Jr. Laboratory was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 2014.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Asa Fitch Notebooks, circa 1827,1872from the
Smithsonian Institution Archives
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives is an institutional archives and library system comprising 21 branch libraries serving the various Smithsonian Institution museums and research centers. The Libraries and Archives serve Smithsonian Institution ...
Salem New York Historical SiteAsa Fitch papers (MS 215). Manuscripts and Archives Yale University Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitch, Asa
1809 births
1879 deaths
American entomologists
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni
Zoologists with author abbreviations
People from Salem, New York
Scientists from New York (state)