Thaddeus William Harris

Thaddeus William Harris ( born November 12, 1795 in Dorchester (Massachusetts ); † January 16, 1856 in Cambridge ( Massachusetts)) was an American entomologist and botanist. With his book on insect pests he was a pioneer of applied entomology.

Life and work

Thaddeus William Harris father was a Unitarian clergyman and temporarily librarian at Harvard. Harris studied at Harvard University Medicine, with the degree ( MD) in 1820. In. He practiced as a physician and was in 1831 as the successor of Benjamin Peirce librarian at Harvard. His interest in insects was awakened by the Harvard professor William Dandridge Peck (1763-1822) as a student, and Harris had in his time as a librarian also lectures on natural history and was the founder of the Harvard Natural History Society. In 1837 he was one of those who were entrusted with a recording of the plant and animal world of Massachusetts. As a result, he presented a systematic catalog of the insects of Massachusetts with 2350 species. He applied for the chair of natural history at Harvard, but in 1842 went to Asa Gray.

Harris was married and had twelve children.

Writings (selection )

• A treatise on some insects injurious to vegetation. Boston 1842, 1852, 1862 ( online).