Joseph F. Fitzpatrick Jr. (08 March 1932 – 11 July 2002 in Mobile, Alabama) was an American

carcinologist A carcinologist is a scientist who studies crustaceans or is otherwise involved in carcinology (the science of crustaceans). References {{Reflist, 24em . Carcinologists ...

. He primarily studied crustaceans, in particular

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, ...

of which he described many new species.

Career

Fitzpatrick was born and grew up in New Orleans. In 1959, he graduated to

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

and in 1961 to

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in zoology at the

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pu ...

. In 1964, he promoted to Ph.D. in biology at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with College admission ...

. Subsequently, he became an assistant professor at the

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

and at the

Randolph-Macon Woman’s College Randolph College is a private liberal arts and sciences college in Lynchburg, Virginia. Founded in 1891 as Randolph-Macon Woman's College, it was renamed on July 1, 2007, when it became coeducational. The college offers 32 majors; 42 minors; ...

. Afterwards he moved to Mobile, Alabama where he taught as professor at the

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May, 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. The first ...

for twenty-five years until his retirement in 1998. In 1972, he was co-founder (with James Avault) of the International Association of Astacology in

Hinterthal Hinterthal ( above sea level) is found approximately to the east of Saalfelden and some 60 minutes southwest of the city of Salzburg, Austria. It is at the foot of the High King Mountain ( Hochkönig) as part of Maria Alm, in the Austrian sta ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, an organisation which is devoted to the research of crayfish. He was further fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsi ...

, and a member of

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

. Fitzpatrick's main research field was the ecology and systematics of the crayfish in which he was recognized as one of the leading experts.

References

Archivegrid: Joseph F. Fitzpatrick Jr. papers, 1930-2000 (bulk 1965-1998).
in ''

The Times-Picayune ''The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate'' is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, since January 25, 1837. The current publication is the result of the 2019 acquisition of ''The Times-Picayune'' (itself a result of th ...

'', 16 July 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzpatrick, Joseph American carcinologists 1932 births 2002 deaths Tulane University alumni University of Virginia alumni Scientists from New Orleans People from Mobile, Alabama 20th-century American zoologists