Howard Madison Parshley (7 August 1884 in

Hallowell, Maine Hallowell is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,570 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Popular with tourists, Hallowell is noted for its culture and old architecture. Hallowel ...

– 19 May 1953) was an American

zoologist 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 ...

, a specialist on the Heteroptera who also wrote more broadly on

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar worki ...

reproduction Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – " offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each individual o ...

and

human sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied w ...

. He was responsible for translating ''

The Second Sex ''The Second Sex'' (french: Le Deuxième Sexe, link=no) is a 1949 book by the French existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir, in which the author discusses the treatment of women in the present society as well as throughout all of history ...

'' into English.

Life

The son of a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...

minister, Parshley was educated at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. From 1911 to 1914 he taught zoology at the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifi ...

. In 1917, Parshley became assistant professor of zoology at

Smith College Smith College is a private liberal arts women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith and opened in 1875. It is the largest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite women's c ...

, where he would stay until 1952. In 1949 he was asked to translate

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even ...

's ''

Le Deuxième Sexe ''The Second Sex'' (french: Le Deuxième Sexe, link=no) is a 1949 book by the French existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir, in which the author discusses the treatment of women in the present society as well as throughout all of history ...

''. Despite a minor heart attack in 1952, Parshley completed this task; his translation, published in 1953, has subsequently been criticized for inaccuracies and excisions.

Works

*''A bibliography of the North American Hemiptera-Heteroptera'', 1925 *(ed.) ''General catalogue of the Hemiptera'', 1927 *''Science and Good Behavior'', 1928 *''The Science of Human Reproduction: Biological aspects of Sex'', 1933 *''Biology'', 1940 *(transl.) ''The Second Sex'', 1953

References

External links

*
Parshley, H. M. (Howard Madison)
1884–1953 at the

Smith College Archives Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college with coed graduate and certificate programs, located in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. The Smith College Archives document the life of the College by collecting mater ...

, Smith College Special Collections 1884 births 1953 deaths 20th-century American zoologists French–English translators Simone de Beauvoir American entomologists People from Hallowell, Maine Harvard University alumni 20th-century translators {{US-entomologist-stub