Leland Ossian Howard
Leland Ossian Howard ( born June 11, 1857 in Rockford, Illinois; † 1 May 1950) was an American entomologist and parasitologist.
Life
Howard studied mainly zoology at Cornell University, where in 1877 a bachelor's degree made , and four years later received a master's degree in botany. From 1878 he was in the Department of Agriculture in Washington DC as entomologist, initially as assistant to Charles Valentine Riley. In 1894 he became Chief Entomologist and thus head of the Bureau of Entomology (Bureau it was not until 1904, after a significant increase in the financial resources that was largely thanks to Howard). He stayed for 30 years until 1927 and had its head in this time of great influence on the entomological research in the U.S., particularly for insect control. He also taught entomology at various colleges and universities. In 1931, he was officially retired.
After he had completed the pre-medical training at Cornell, he studied medicine in evening classes at the George Washington University, where he made his MD degree. He dealt with many issues of applied entomology, particularly in agriculture and medicine ( mosquitoes, houseflies as carriers of disease ). For example, he studied parasitic Hymenoptera and he was a pioneer in the use of insect parasites in agriculture. He became famous for his book translated into many languages , the threat of insects ( The Insect Menace ) and he was not tired to portray in popular science publications from the dangers caused by insects and to emphasize and how to combat them.
He described 47 new insect genera and 272 new species of insects (without Mosquitos, where he erstbeschrieb with other 22 species ). Howard traveled a lot and made many international contacts.
He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and permanent secretary of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which he was president in 1920. 1894 to 1907 he was secretary of the Cosmos Club and in 1909 its president. He was honorary curator of the U.S. National Museum ( Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC) and from 1904 Advisor to the Public Health Service in insect questions.
He was in 1884 one of the founders of the Entomological Society of Washington and editor of the journal Insect Life.
Howard was a knight and officer of the Legion of Honour. He was five honorary doctorates, including at Georgetown University and George Washington University. In 1931 he received the Capper Award and he received the medal of the French Buffon Natural History Museum. He was an honorary member of many foreign entomological societies.
Writings
He has published nearly 1,000 articles.
- Mosquitoes. How They Live, How They carry disease, how They Are and How They classified 'may be destroyed, McClure, Phillips & Co., 1901
- The Insect Book, Doubleday, Page & Company, 1901
- The House Fly - Disease Carrier: an account of its dangerous activities and of the Means of destroying it, Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1911
- Harrison Gray Dyar, Frederick Knab Mosquitoes of North and Central America and the West Indies, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1917
- The Insect Menace, New York, London, Century Co. 1931