Frank Eugene Lutz (September 15, 1879 – November 27, 1943) was an American entomologist.

Biography

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, in 1900 (A.B.), then from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

in 1902 (A.M.), and then entered

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

, England, where he was a student of Karl Pearson. He was resident investigator at the

Carnegie Institution The Carnegie Institution of Washington (the organization's legal name), known also for public purposes as the Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS), is an organization in the United States established to fund and perform scientific research. T ...

's new Station for Experimental Evolution at Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York from 1904 to 1909 where he did genetic studies of

Drosophila ''Drosophila'' () is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or (less frequently) pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many speci ...

. He received a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from the

in 1907. His thesis was on

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

variation. In 1909, he became assistant curator of invertebrate zoology at American Museum of Natural History,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, becoming associate curator in 1916. He was known for his interest in the genetics of

. Dr Frank Lutz pioneered the first nature trail in the United States. An idea that spread quickly to parks across the country and the world. See

Educational trail An educational trail (or sometimes educational path), nature trail or nature walk is a specially developed hiking trail or footpath that runs through the countryside, along which there are marked stations or stops next to points of natural, techn ...

. He married Martha Ellen Brobson of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in 1904. They had four children.

Writing

He made numerous contributions to the scientific journals on the subjects variation, heredity, assortive mating and entomology. He wrote ''Field Book of Insects'' published in 1917 illustrated in the main by Edna Libby Beutenmüller. He also wrote ''A Lot of Insects'' published in 1941.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lutz, Frank Eugene 1879 births 1943 deaths People from Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania American entomologists People associated with the American Museum of Natural History American curators University of Chicago alumni People from Cold Spring Harbor, New York Haverford College alumni Scientists from New York (state)