Charlotte De Bernier Scarbrough Taylor (August 4, 1806 – November 26, 1865) was an American

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

Life

Born in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

in 1806, daughter of William Scarbrough, and Julia (née Bernard), Taylor was educated at Madam Binze's School in New York, after which she made a tour of Europe. On her return to Georgia in 1829, she married James Taylor, a wealthy merchant, with whom she had two daughters and one son, lived in Savannah as a person of means, raised the family and became involved in social affairs, scientific studies and writing. Just before the start of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Taylor went to England to write a book about

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

life, but died on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

on November 26, 1865.

Works

During the 1830s, Taylor began to study insects seriously, publishing her findings in general literary magazines. She studied insects related to cotton growing for fifteen years before publishing in American magazines, notably ''

Harper's New Monthly Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

'', in the 1850s. She also investigated insects related to

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

. She is thought to have published about 19 articles in all, including the following. * "The Flea." ''Harper's New Monthly Magazine'' 19 (June–November 1859):178-189 (This article as well as Taylor's earlier work published in this magazine is unsigned, which was true for all articles in this magazine until volume 20.) Articles written by Charlotte Taylor (many of which include illustrations): The Musquito Family, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine,Volume 18, pages 32 – 43 Flies, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine,Volume 18, pages 729 – 740 The Flea, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine,Volume 19, pages 178 – 189 Insects Destructive To Wheat, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine,Volume 20, pages 38 – 52 The Silk-Worm, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine,Volume 20, pages 753 – 764 Insects Belonging To The Cotton Plant, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine,Volume 21, pages 37 – 51 Spiders: Their Structure And Habits, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Volume 21, pages 461-477 Unwelcome Guests, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Volume 22, pages 30 - 46 More About Spiders, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Volume 22, pages 323 – 335 A Chapter on Mites, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine,Volume 22, pages 607 – 614 Insects Destructive Of Maize, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine,Volume 23, pages 317 – 326 Pets, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine,Volume 23, pages 519 – 524 Night Revelers, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine,Volume 23, pages 770 – 776 An Orthopterian Defense, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Volume 24, pages 490 – 496 A Notable Congress, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine,Volume 25, pages 732 – 745 Musicians Of Field And Meadow, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Volume 26, pages 495 – 500 Insects Injurious To Fruit, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine,Volume 26, pages 827 – 833 Insects Injurious To The Vine, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine,Volume 27, pages 61 – 66 Soundings, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine,Volume 29, pages 179 – 186 Under A Glass, Manx Sun, 4/25/1863 What I Found In A Morning Walk, Manx Sun, 1/17/1863 American Agriculturist 1860-04: Vol 19 Iss 3, Microscopic Views of the Insect World. I, Pg 80 – 81 American Agriculturist 1860-04: Vol 19 Iss 4, Microscopic Views of the Insect World. II, Pg 108 – 109 American Agriculturist 1860-05: Vol 19 Iss 5, Microscopic Views of the Insect World. III, Pg 140 – 141 American Agriculturist 1860-06: Vol 19 Iss 6, Microscopic Views of the Insect World. IV, Pg 172 - 173 American Agriculturist 1860-10: Vol 19 Iss 9, Microscopic Views of the Insect World. V, Pg 268 American Agriculturist 1860-10: Vol 19 Iss 10, Microscopic Views of the Insect World. VI, Pg 300 – 301 American Agriculturist 1860-10: Vol 19 Iss 11, Microscopic Views of the Insect World. VII, Pg 332 - 333 American Agriculturist 1860-12: Vol 19 Iss 12, Microscopic Views of the Insect World. VIII, Pg 360 Charlotte also wrote and illustrated a book published by Saunders, Otley, & Co. in 1859 titled "Scenes In Southern Plantation Life". Taylor used powerful magnifying glasses to study insects and illustrated her articles with intricate drawings, in which endeavour she was assisted by her daughters. She published a study on the

silkworm The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of ''Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically imp ...

and wrote about the natural history and anatomy of spiders. On her journey to England she made microscopic studies of sea water. Taylor is recognized as having produced significant and accurate work that is of high quality. This work may not have been recognized due to the fact that she published in popular magazines and wrote in entertaining literary style.Sorensen, W. C. (1995). ''Brethren of the Net: American Entomology, 1840–1880''. University of Alabama Press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Charlotte De Bernier 1806 births 1865 deaths American women entomologists People from Savannah, Georgia 19th-century American zoologists 19th-century American women scientists