Alexander Grant Ruthven (April 1, 1882 – January 19, 1971) was a herpetologist, zoologist and the President of the University of Michigan from 1929 to 1951.

Biography

Alexander Grant Ruthven was born in 1882 in Hull, Iowa. He graduated from Morningside College in 1903. In 1906, he received a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Michigan.The Michigan Saga
/ref> He worked as a professor, director of the University Museum, and Dean. He became the President in 1929. As such, he promoted a corporate administrative structure. He also approved of police raids against

bootleggers Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...

at fraternities. He retired in 1951, and died in 1971. He is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery which is adjacent to the university. The work of Ruthven on the familiar garter snakes, published in 1908, may be regarded as founding an essentially new school of

herpetology Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

in the United States. This was a revision of a genus, carried out by the examination of large numbers of specimens, and evaluated largely in geographic terms. Ruthven attracted many students of

reptiles Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the Class (biology), class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsid, sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, Squamata, squamates (lizar ...

to the University of Michigan, his most brilliant pupils being

Frank N. Blanchard Frank Nelson Blanchard (December 19, 1888 – September 21, 1937) was an American herpetologist, and professor of zoology at the University of Michigan from which institution he received his Ph.D. He is credited with describing several new subspec ...

and Helen T. Gaige. Ruthven described and named 16 new species of reptiles, including three with Gaige.

Legacy

Ruthven is commemorated in the scientific names of seven reptiles: ''

Geophis ruthveni ''Geophis ruthveni'', also known as Ruthven's earth snake, is a snake of the colubrid family. It is found in Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), ...

'', '' Holbrookia maculata ruthveni'', ''

Lampropeltis ruthveni ''Lampropeltis ruthveni'' (common name: Ruthven's kingsnake) is a species of kingsnake in the family Colubridae. The species was described by Frank N. Blanchard in 1920 and named after American herpetologist Alexander Grant Ruthven. Beolens B, ...

'', '' Lepidoblepharis ruthveni'', '' Macropholidus ruthveni'', ''

Masticophis schotti ruthveni ''Masticophis'' is a genus of colubrid snakes, commonly referred to as whip snakes or coachwhips, which are endemic to the Americas. Conant R (1975). ''A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition ...

'', and ''

Pituophis ruthveni ''Pituophis'' is a genus of nonvenomous colubrid snakes, commonly referred to as gopher snakes, pine snakes, and bullsnakes, which are endemic to North America. Geographic range Species and subspecies within the genus ''Pituophis'' are found th ...

''.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Ruthven", p. 230).

Writings

*''Miscellaneous Papers on the Zoology of Michigan'', W.H. Crawford Co., 1916 *''A Naturalist in a University Museum'', 1931 *''Laboratory Directions in Principles of Animal Biology'', by Aaron Franklin Shull, George Roger Larue, Alexander Grant Ruthven, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc, 1942 *''Naturalist in Two Worlds. Random Recollections of a University President'', 1963 *
The Herpetology of Michigan
' *''Description of a New Salamander from Iowa'' *''Variations and Genetic Relationships of the Garter-Snakes'' *''The Amphibians and Reptiles of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Columbia, etc. With map''

Biography

Legacy

Writings

References

Further reading