Herbert Huntingdon Smith or Herbert Huntington Smith (January 21, 1851 in

Manlius, New York Manlius is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town to the south east of Syracuse, New York, Syracuse in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 33,712, making it the third largest suburb in Sy ...

– March 22, 1919 in

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...

) was an American

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

and amateur

conchologist Conchology, from Ancient Greek κόγχος (''kónkhos''), meaning "cockle (bivalve), cockle", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of mollus ...

who worked on the

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

and

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. He wrote ''Brazil, the Amazons and the coast'' (C. Scribner's Sons, 1879) and ''Do Rio de Janeiro á Cuyabá: Notas de um naturalista'' (1922). He first went to Brazil in 1870 on the

J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. As the head of the banking firm that ...

expedition led by

Charles Frederick Hartt Charles Frederick Hartt (23 August 1840 in Fredericton, New Brunswick – 18 March 1878) was a Canadian-American geologist, paleontologist and naturalist who specialized in the geology of Brazil. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick Hartt graduated fr ...

. He returned to stay in Santarém from 1874 to 1876, and then spent a year exploring the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

and

Tapajós The Tapajós ( ) is a river in Brazil. It runs through the Amazon Rainforest and is a major tributary of the Amazon River. When combined with the Juruena River, the Tapajós is approximately long. Prior to a drastic increase in illegal gold mi ...

Rivers. Back in the United States, he began working for

Scribner's Magazine ''Scribner's Magazine'' was an American periodical published by the publishing house of Charles Scribner's Sons from January 1887 to May 1939. ''Scribner's Magazine'' was the second magazine out of the Scribner's firm, after the publication of ...

, writing on Brazil and frequently returning, once with the artist James Wells Champney. In 1880, he married Amelia "Daisy" Woolworth, also a naturalist. They lived in Brazil until 1886, travelling widely and visiting

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

but spending most time at

Chapada dos Guimarães Chapada dos Guimarães is a municipality located in central Brazil, 62 km from the city of Cuiabá, the capital of Mato Grosso State. It is home to the Chapada dos Guimarães National Park The Chapada dos Guimarães National Park () is a nat ...

, where intensive collecting (especially of insects) resulted in the discovery of many new species. After a few months in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, they returned to the United States. The insect collections were purchased by

William Jacob Holland Rev William Jacob Holland FRSE LLD (August 16, 1848 – December 13, 1932) was the eighth Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh (1891–1901) and Director of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. He was an accomplished lepidopterist, zoologist ...

and

Frederick DuCane Godman Frederick DuCane Godman (15 January 1834 – 19 February 1919) was an English lepidopterist, entomology, entomologist and ornithology, ornithologist. He was one of the twenty founding members of the British Ornithologists' Union. Along with Osb ...

. In 1889, Smith collected in Mexico for Godman, the results appearing in ''Biologia Centrali-Americana'', with one route taking him from Mexico City down through Moreleos and Guerrero states to Acapulco on the Pacific, and another trip for the region of Southern Veracruz and Tabasco on the Atlantic. He was then commissioned by the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

to collect in the West Indies (

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, sometimes known simply as Saint Vincent or SVG, is an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies, at the south ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

and the

Windward Islands The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean islands or the West Indies. Located approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W, they extend from D ...

, 1889–1895). He then became Curator at the Carnegie Museum. From 1898 to 1902, he collected in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

for the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...

, where two of his letters are kept, resuming curatorship of the Carnegie Museum on his return. The couple then moved to Alabama, where they gathered freshwater and land mollusks to supply a "Shell Syndicate" consisting mainly of private collectors. Herbert Smith's abilities were eventually recognized by

Eugene Allen Smith Eugene Allen Smith (October 27, 1841 – September 7, 1927) was an American geologist. After serving in the American Civil War, he became the Alabama state geologist in 1873 and president of the Geological Society of America in 1913. Biography He ...

, the State Geologist of Alabama, and he was hired on as Curator of the

Alabama Museum of Natural History Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

in 1910. The very many new

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

collected by Herbert Huntingdon and Amelia "Daisy" W. Smith were described by Frederick DuCane Godman and

Herbert Druce Herbert Druce, Linnean Society, FLS (14 July 1846 in London – 11 April 1913 in London) was an English entomologist. His collections were acquired by Frederick DuCane Godman (1834–1919), Osbert Salvin (1835–1898), and James John Joicey (187 ...

(

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

);

Samuel Wendell Williston Samuel Wendell Williston (July 10, 1852 – August 30, 1918) was an American educator, entomologist, and Paleontology, paleontologist who was the first to propose that birds developed flight Origin of birds#Origin of bird flight, cursorially (by ...

(

Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advance ...

);

William Harris Ashmead William Harris Ashmead was an American entomologist born on 19 September 1855 at Philadelphia. He died 17 October 1908 at Washington D.C. After his studies in Philadelphia, Ashmead worked for the publisher J. B. Lippincott & Co. Later, he settled ...

and

Ezra Townsend Cresson Ezra Townsend Cresson (18 June 1838, in Byberry19 April 1926, in Swarthmore) was an American entomologist who specialized in the Hymenoptera order of insects. He wrote ''Synopsis of the families and genera of the Hymenoptera of America, north of ...

(

Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...

);

George Charles Champion George Charles Champion (29 April 1851 – 8 August 1927) was an English entomologist specialising in the study of beetles. Biography George was born in Walworth, South London, the eldest son of George Champion. Encouraged by J. Platt-Barret ...

(

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

);

Philip Reese Uhler Philip Reese Uhler (June 3, 1835 – October 21, 1913) was an American librarian and entomologist who specialized in Hemiptera, an insect order commonly known as true bugs. He was considered America's foremost expert on this group and was widely ...

, and

William Lucas Distant William Lucas Distant (12 November 1845 Rotherhithe – 4 February 1922 Wanstead) was an English entomologist. Biography Early years Distant was born in Rotherhithe, the son of whaling captain Alexander Distantspecies:B.R. Subba Rao, Rao, B.R ...

(

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising more than 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from ...

). Smith's death was tragic. On his walk to work at the Alabama Museum of Natural History, the deaf naturalist, who had recently endured a bout of influenza, was hit by a train. The spot on the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

campus was known for many years as "Smith's Crossing." Some of Smith's papers are preserved in the collections of the Geological Survey of Alabama. Unfortunately, the current whereabouts of his field notes are unknown.

Amelia (Daisy) W. Smith

Herbert Smith's collections were, following his marriage, made jointly with his wife Daisy, an expert collector, specimen preparator, and

taxidermist Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body by mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the process ...

. Usually called Daisy, she was the daughter of New York missionaries. The couple had one son.

Bibliography

* Smith. H. H. 1912. ''Directions for collecting land shells''. *Osborn, H. 1937 ''Fragments of Entomological History Including Some Personal Recollections of Men and Events''. Columbus, Ohio, Published by the Author. *Osborn, H. 1952 ''A Brief History of Entomology Including Time of Demosthenes and Aristotle to Modern Times with over Five Hundred Portraits''. Columbus, Ohio, The Spahr & Glenn Company.

References

External links

*
University of Illinois info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Herbert Huntingdon 1851 births 1919 deaths American entomologists American naturalists Brazilian explorers People from Manlius, New York Scientists from New York (state) American deaf people Railway accident deaths in the United States Accidental deaths in Alabama