Foster Hendrickson Benjamin (1895–1936) was an American

entomologist 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 lepidopterist.

Biography

Benjamin was born in 1895, and was friends with George P. Engelhardt and Jacob Doll, who introduced him to

entomology Entomology () is the science, 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 ...

. In 1921 he graduated from Cornell University, and got a job from

Mississippi State Plant Board Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. ...

. He became a curator of William Barnes Museum in 1922 at

Decatur, Illinois Decatur ( ) is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 70,522 as of the 2020 Census. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Ce ...

, and by 1927 became a member of the United States Department of Agriculture and

Bureau of Entomology The Bureau of Entomology was a unit within the Federal government of the United States from 1894 to 1934. It developed from a section of the Department of Agriculture which had been working on entomological researches and allied issues relating to ...

. He was an assistant in investigations of the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

and Mediterranean fruit flies, that he found in Texas in 1927, and in Florida, 1929. He became a member of the

, a division of United States National Museum, where he remained until his death in 1936.

References

American lepidopterists 1895 births 1936 deaths Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni American curators Date of birth missing Date of death missing 20th-century American zoologists {{US-entomologist-stub