Henry Augustus Pilsbry (7 December 1862 – 26 October 1957) was an American
biologist
A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...
,
malacologist
Malacology, from Ancient Greek μαλακός (''malakós''), meaning "soft", and λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (molluscs or mollusks), the second-largest ...
and
carcinologist
This is a list of notable carcinologists. A carcinologist is a scientist who studies crustaceans or is otherwise involved in carcinology (the science of crustaceans).
References
{{Reflist, 24em
Carcinologists, .
Lists of zoologists, Carcino ...
, among other areas of study. He was a dominant presence in many fields of invertebrate taxonomy for the better part of a century. For much of his career, his authority with respect to the classification of certain substantial groups of organisms was unchallenged:
barnacle
Barnacles are arthropods of the subclass (taxonomy), subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacean, Crustacea. They are related to crabs and lobsters, with similar Nauplius (larva), nauplius larvae. Barnacles are exclusively marine invertebra ...
s,
chiton
Chitons () are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora ( ), formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 extant and 430 fossil species are recognized.
They are also sometimes known as sea cradles or coat-of-mail shells or suck ...
s, North American
terrestrial mollusks, and others.
Biography
Pilsbry (frequently misspelled ''Pilsbury'') spent his childhood and youth in Iowa. He was called "Harry" Pilsbry then, and developed an early fascination with the limited variety of mollusks he was able to find. He attended the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
, and received the Bachelor of Science degree there in 1882, but did not immediately find employment in his field of interest. Instead, Henry Pilsbry worked for publishing firms and newspapers for the next several years, but devoted most of his spare time to the study of mollusks.
In 1887, he found employment in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
as a proofreader, but soon met
George Washington Tryon
George Washington Tryon Jr. (20 May 1838 – 5 February 1888) was an American malacologist who worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.
Biography
George Washington Tryon was the son of Edward K. Tryon and Adeline Savidt. ...
, the resident expert on mollusks at the
Academy of Natural Sciences
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading natur ...
of Philadelphia, and architect and author of the ongoing multi-volume ''Manual of Concology''. This meeting led, within a few months, to Tryon's hiring Pilsbry as an assistant. He was, no doubt, impressed by the young man's talents as a proofreader, considerable expertise in technical illustration, and especially by his undeniable enthusiasm for the study of mollusks and substantial knowledge of the subject.
Less than three months after Pilsbry began his new job, George Tryon died and his new assistant, only 25 years old, perhaps to the surprise of some, inherited the titles of "Conservator of the Conchology Section" and "Editor" of the ''
Manual of Conchology
George Washington Tryon Jr. (20 May 1838 – 5 February 1888) was an American malacologist who worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.
Biography
George Washington Tryon was the son of Edward K. Tryon and Adeline Savidt. ...
''.

Pilsbry soon proved capable of prodigious efforts, and his scientific output was remarkable. During the next five years he produced hundreds of detailed pages of the ''Manual of Conchology'', preparing many of the plates himself, and founded ''
The Nautilus
''Nautilus'' is the fictional submarine belonging to Captain Nemo featured in Jules Verne's novels ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (1870) and '' The Mysterious Island'' (1875).
Description
''Nautilus'' is described by Verne as ...
'', an influential journal of malacology which has survived into the 21st century. He also married during this period, to Adeline Avery. He was elected to the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
in 1895. His college, the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...
, honored him with a Doctor of Science degree in 1899 (and he later received two other honorary doctorates:
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
, 1940, and
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...
, 1941). In 1921, he was elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
. In 1929 he participated in the
Pinchot South Sea Expedition The Pinchot South Sea Expedition was a 1929 zoological expedition to the Caribbean and South Pacific led and financed by Gifford Pinchot.
Itinerary and personnel
The expedition departed from New York City on 31 March 1929 aboard the Pinchots' yacht ...
. Pilsbry was the first president of the American Malacological Union (Society) founded in 1931.
For almost all of the next 57 years of his long life, Henry Pilsbry spent his hours writing scientific papers, over 3,000 of them, mostly while at the Academy of Natural Sciences. Most of his longest papers were published by the Academy. The shorter ones could usually be found in ''The Nautilus''. The large majority of his work carried only his name, although there were sometimes joint or junior authors, some of whom were more patron than scientist. It is notable that Pilsbry did not always confine himself to the several areas of study with which he was already closely associated, but rather would sometimes stray into other fields of science, from geology and paleontology to the taxonomy of
brachiopod
Brachiopods (), phylum (biology), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear e ...
s.
His field work provided a steady supply of new specimens for study, dissection, and illustration, and a seemingly endless array of new species to name. Pilsbry named 5680 organisms; a full list was published in a 218-page volume. Pilsbry performed extensive amounts of field work, and was clearly an expert in dealing with the outdoors, no matter the conditions. He collected mollusks over virtually the entire United States, and in an atlas of countries:
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
Bahamas
The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...
,
Cocos Islands
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands (), officially the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands (; ), are an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean, comprising a small archipelago approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka and rel ...
,
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
,
Galapagos Islands,
Guatemala
Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
,
Marquesas Islands
The Marquesas Islands ( ; or ' or ' ; Marquesan language, Marquesan: ' (North Marquesan language, North Marquesan) and ' (South Marquesan language, South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcano, volcanic islands in ...
,
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
,
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
,
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, and other locations as well. His intellectual reach extended even further, through joint efforts with other workers: especially notably
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
with
Joseph Bequaert
Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...
and the
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
ese region with
Yoichiro Hirase.
Pilsbry suffered a heart attack in late 1957 while working at the Philadelphia Academy. He seemed to recover from this serious occurrence, but died at his winter home in Florida, about a month and a half later, from a similar event.
Henry Augustus Pilsbry is buried in
Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania
Bala Cynwyd ( ) is a community and census-designated place in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located on the Philadelphia Main Line in Southeastern Pennsylvania and borders the western edge of Philadelphia at U.S. Route ...
, at St. Asaph's Church.
Tribute
A species of Cuban dwarf boa, ''
Tropidophis pilsbryi'', is named in his honor.
A species of mollusk, ''Tethys pilsbyi'', was named in his honor by a former student and malacologist,
Elizabeth "Jennie" Letson.
Bibliography
Manual of Conchology
Pilsbry was an assistant was of George Washington Tryon for two years, from 1887 to 1888. After Tryon's death in 1888, Pilsbry became an editor of an ongoing multi-volume ''Manual of Conchology''. He is credited (at title page) in ''Manual of Conchology'' since volume 12 from 1890.
Selected major works
* Pilsbry H. A. (14 May 1889). "New and little known American mollusks, no. I.
''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 4181��89, pl. 3.
* Pilsbry H. A. (25 February 1890). "New and little known American mollusks, no. II.
''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 41411��416, pl. 12.
* Pilsbry H. A. 21 (October 1890). "New and little known American mollusks, no. 3.
''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 42296��302, pl. 5.
* Pilsbry H. A. (1895). ''Catalogue of the Marine Mollusks of Japan, with Descriptions of New Species, and Notes on Others Collected by Frederick Stearns''. Detroit: F. Stearns. 196 p.
ncludes 30 species of modern brachiopods* Pilsbry H. A. (1900). "Mollusca of the Great Smoky Mountains". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 52
110��150.
* Pilsbry H. A. (1900). "Note on Polynesian and East Indian Pupidae". ''
'' 52
431��433.
* Pilsbry H. A. (1902). "New land Mollusca from Japan and the Bonin Islands". ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 54
25–32
* Pilsbry H. A. (1902). "New land Mollusca from Idaho". ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 54: 593.
* Pilsbry, H. A., (1904)
''New Japanese marine Mollusca: Gastropoda''. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 56* Pilsbry H. A. (1905). "Mollusca of the Southwestern States, I: Urocoptidae; Helicidae of Arizona and New Mexico". ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 57: 211–290.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Y. Hirase. (1905). "Catalogue of the Land and Fresh Water Molluscs of Taiwan (Formosa), with description of new species". ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 57: 720–752.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferris J. H. (1906). "Mollusca of Southern States. II". ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 58
123��175.
* Pilsbry H. A. (1907). "The Barnacles (Cirripedia) Contained in the Collections of the U.S. National Museum". ''Bul. United States National Museum'' 60. 122 p.
* Pilsbry H. A. &
Ferriss J. H. (1907). "Mollusca of the Ozarkian Fauna". ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 58: 529–567.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. (1910). "Mollusca of the Southwestern States, III: The Huachuca Mountains, Arizona". ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 61: 495–516.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. (1910). "Mollusca of the Southwestern States: IV. The Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona". ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 62: 44–147.
* Pilsbry H. A. (1911)
''Non-marine mollusca of Patagonia'' Princeton: The University.
* Pilsbry H. A. (1912). "A study of the variation and zoogeography of ''
Liguus
''Liguus'' is a genus of large tropical air-breathing land snails, more specifically arboreal locomotion, arboreal or tree snails, terrestrial molluscs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Orthalicidae.
These snails are especi ...
'' in Florida". ''J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia'' 15(2nd ser.): 429–471.
* Pilsbry H. A. (1915). "Mollusca of the Southwestern States, VI: The Hacheta Grande, Florida, and
Peloncillo Mountains, New Mexico". ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 68: 323–350.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. (1915). "Mollusca of the Southwestern States VII: The Dragoon, Mule, Santa Rita, Baboquivari, and Tucson Ranges, Arizona". ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 68: 363–418.
* Pilsbry H. A. (1916). "The Sessile Barnacles (Cirripedia) Contained in the Collections of the U.S. National Museum, including a monograph of the American species". ''Bul. United States National Museum'' 93: 366.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. (1917). "Mollusca of the Southwestern States VIII: The Black Range, New Mexico". ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 69: 83–107.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. (1919). "Mollusca of the Southwestern States IX: The
Santa Catalina,
Rincon,
Tortolita and
Galiuro Mountains
The Galiuro Mountains are a large sky island mountain range of southeast Arizona, United States. It is a northerly mountain range in the Madrean Sky Islands region of southeast Arizona, northern Sonora in northwestern Mexico, and the extreme ...
. X. The mountains of the Gila headwaters". ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 70: 282–333.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. (1923). "Mollusca of the Southwestern States, XI – From the Tucson Range to Ajo, and mountain ranges between the San Padro and Santa Cruz rivers, Arizona". ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 75: 47–103.
* Pilsbry H. A. &
Bequaert J. (1927). "The Aquatic Mollusks of the Belgian Congo. With a geographical and ecological account of Congo malacology". ''
Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History'' 53(2): 69–602
PDF
* Pilsbry H. A. (1934). "Zoological Results of the Dolan West China Expedition of 1931, Part II, Mollusks". ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 86: 5–28.
* Pilsbry H. A. (1939)
''Land Mollusca of North America north of Mexico'' vol. I part 1 Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia. pp. 1–574.
* Pilsbry H. A. (1940)
''Land Mollusca of North America north of Mexico'' vol. I part 2 Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia. pp. 575–994.
* Pilsbry H. A. (1946)
''Land Mollusca of North America north of Mexico'' vol. II part 1 Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia. pp. 1–520.
* Pilsbry H. A. (1948)
''Land Mollusca of North America north of Mexico'' vol. II part 2 Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia. pp. 521–1113.
* Pilsbry H. A. (1948). "Inland Mollusks of Northern Mexico. I. The genera ''
Humboldtiana
''Humboldtiana'' is a genus of American air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the subfamily Humboldtianinae.
Anatomy
Snails in this genus create and use love darts as part of their mating behavior.
The scanni ...
'', ''
Sonorella
''Sonorella'' is a genus of land snails in the subfamily Helminthoglyptinae. They are known commonly as talussnails or talus snails because most live in talus and similar habitat. They are distributed across the southwestern United States and ...
'', ''
Oreohelix
''Oreohelix'' is a genus of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Oreohelicidae.
''Oreohelix'' is the type genus for the family Oreohelicidae.
There are about 79 species in this genus. They are nat ...
'' and ''
Ashmunella
''Ashmunella'' is a genus of small, air-breathing, land snail
A land snail is any of the numerous species of snail that live on land, as opposed to the sea snails and freshwater snails. ''Land snail'' is the common name for terrestrial mollusc ...
''". ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 100
185��203.
* Pilsbry H. A. (1953). "Inland Mollusca of Northern Mexico. II. Urocoptidae, Pupillidae, Strobilopsidae, Valloniidae, and Cionellidae". ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 105: 133–167.
See also
*
:Taxa named by Henry Augustus Pilsbry
References
External links
Biography of Henry Augustus Pilsbry* photo of Henry Augustus Pilsbry taken by ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
'' and later published in ''
The Nautilus
''Nautilus'' is the fictional submarine belonging to Captain Nemo featured in Jules Verne's novels ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (1870) and '' The Mysterious Island'' (1875).
Description
''Nautilus'' is described by Verne as ...
'' 71(3)
plate 7
W. Clench (2007) New names introduced by HA Pilsbry in the Mollusca and Crustacea; Academy of Natural Sciences
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilsbry, Henry Augustus
1862 births
1957 deaths
People from Iowa City, Iowa
University of Iowa alumni
American biologists
American zoologists
American carcinologists
American malacologists
People from Lantana, Florida
Conchologists
Members of the American Philosophical Society