Edward Luther Kessel (April 27, 1904 – September 30, 1997) was an American biologist known for his work as an

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 ...

and writings to reconcile science and religion.

Early life and education

Kessel was born on 27 April 1904 in Osborne, Kansas to George Grant Kessel and Hattie Levon Kessel, but the family moved to South Africa in 1908, and later in 1916 to San Joaquin County, California where he grew up in the farming community of Ripon. The elder Kessel was a Free Methodist preacher, sparking Kessel's lifelong interest in the reconciliation of science and religion.Kessel, E.L. 1989. Autobiographical anecdotes (I was a preacher's kid). ''Myia 4:1-184. Kessel began studies for the ministry at

Greenville College Greenville University is a private university in Greenville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church. Established as Greenville College in 1892, the institution was renamed Greenville University in 2017. History In 1855, Stephe ...

in Illinois and Church Divinity School of the Pacific before finishing his B.S. degree in agriculture at the University of California, Berkeley in 1925. His M.A. (1927) and Ph.D. degrees (1936) were also earned at the University of California, Berkeley.

Career

Kessel began his teaching career at Marquette University (1927-1932), but he spent most of his professional career in San Francisco as a faculty member at the University of San Francisco (1936-1974), and as curator of the entomological collections at the California Academy of Sciences (1945-1959). He served as the managing editor of the ''Wasmann Journal of Biology'' from 1950 to 1974, and during his 30-year association with the California Academy of Sciences, he was the editor of 370 technical papers and monographs published by the Academy. Kessel is considered to be one of the leading authorities on the

Platypezidae Platypezidae is a family (biology), family of Fly, true flies of the Taxonomic rank, superfamily Platypezoidea. The more than 250 species are Cosmopolitan distribution, found worldwide primarily in woodland habitats. A common name is flat-foote ...

or flat-footed flies, with entomologists mailing specimens to him from around the globe. Kessel's collections, which are housed at the California Academy of Sciences, are the most comprehensive collection of this taxon in the world. Kessel died at his retirement home in Milwaukie, Oregon on 30 September 1997. The University of San Francisco annually bestows the ''Edward L. Kessel Award'' to an undergraduate student with high potential for a professional career in the biological sciences. Kessel was a Fellow of

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 respons ...

, and a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, and he served as president of the Pacific Coast Entomological Society.

Selected publications

Edward L. Kessel was the author of about 100 scientific publications mostly on entomology, many of which were co-authored by his spouse Berta B. Kessel (10 Feb 1911 - 20 Jul 1995).Arnaud, P.H. Jr. 1989. Biological publications of Edward Luther Kessel with listing of Diptera taxa proposed. ''Myia'' 4:201-231. However he also is known for a 1983 paper proposing parthenogenesis and phenotypic sex-reversal as a possible explanation for the

virgin birth of Christ The virgin birth of Jesus is the Christian doctrine that Jesus was conceived by his mother, Mary, through the power of the Holy Spirit and without sexual intercourse. It is mentioned only in and , and the modern scholarly consensus is that the ...

. Some of his publications included: *Kessel E.L. and B.B. Kessel. 1939. Diptera associated with fungi. ''Wasmann Collector'' 3: 73-92. *Kessel, E.L. and J.V. Karabinos. 1947. ''Empimorpha geneatis'' Melander, a balloon fly from California with a chemical examination of its balloons (Diptera; Empididae). ''Pan-Pacific Entomology'' 23:181-192. *Kessel E.L. 1948. Australian sod fly introduced into California (Diptera: Stratiomyidae). ''Science'' 108(2813):607. *Kessel, E.L. and B.B. Kessel. 1951. A new species of balloon-bearing ''Empis'' and an account of its mating activities (Diptera:Empididae). ''Wasmann Journal of Biology'' 9:137-146. *Kessel, E. L. 1955. The mating activities of balloon flies. ''Systematic Zoology'' 4:97-104. *Kessel E.L., Buegler M.E. and Keyes P.M. 1973. A survey of the known larvae and puparia of Platypezidae, with a key to ten genera based on the immature stages (Diptera). ''Wasmann Journal of Biology'' 31: 233-261. *Kessel, E.L. 1983. A proposed biological interpretation of the Virgin birth. ''Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation'' 35:129-136
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessel, Edward L. American entomologists American science writers 1904 births 1997 deaths Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science People associated with the California Academy of Sciences Scientists from the San Francisco Bay Area Marquette University faculty University of San Francisco faculty University of California, Berkeley alumni People from Osborne, Kansas Writers from Kansas 20th-century American zoologists