Willis John Gertsch (October 4, 1906 – December 12, 1998) was an American

arachnologist Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and harvestmen. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly, the study of sp ...

. He described over 1,000 species of spiders, scorpions, and other arachnids, including the

Brown recluse spider The brown recluse (''Loxosceles reclusa''), Sicariidae (formerly placed in a family "Loxoscelidae") is a recluse spider with necrotic venom. Similar to those of other recluse spiders, their bites sometimes require medical attention. The brown r ...

and the

Tooth cave spider The Tooth Cave spider, formerly ''Neoleptoneta myopica'', now ''Tayshaneta myopica'', is a long spider in the family Leptonetidae. It is endemic to limestone caves near Austin, Texas in the United States and is considered an endangered species. ...

. Gertsch was born in

Montpelier, Idaho Montpelier is a city in Bear Lake County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,597 at the 2010 census, down from 2,785 in 2000. The city is the largest community in the Bear Lake Valley, a farming region north of Bear Lake in southeaster ...

, on October 4, 1906. He earned a M.S. from University of Utah in 1930, working under Ralph V. Chamberlin, and in 1935 a PhD from

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

, although he had by then taken on a job at the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

, and so earned his doctorate ''in absentia.'' Gertsch was the premier American arachnologist for half of the 20th century. He was Curator of Arachnids at the

, and later retired to

Portal, Arizona Portal is an unincorporated community in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. It lies south-southeast of San Simon and at the mouth of Cave Creek Canyon on the east side of the Chiricahua Mountains. Often called the Yosemite of Arizona, the ...

in the

Chiricahua Mountains The Chiricahua Mountains massif is a large mountain range in southeastern Arizona which is part of the Basin and Range province of the west and southwestern United States and northwest Mexico; the range is part of the Coronado National Forest. T ...

. He was the author of hundreds of generic and specific names in a multitude of families and also the author of ''American Spiders'', as well as editor of a later revised printing of

John Henry Comstock John Henry Comstock (February 24, 1849 – March 20, 1931) was an eminent researcher in entomology and arachnology and a leading educator. His work provided the basis for classification of butterflies, moths, and scale insects. Early life and ...

's ''Spider Book.'' During his tenure as Curator at the American Museum of Natural History he was the usual authority quoted when any question on spiders arose. Gertsch was consulted by author

E. B. White Elwyn Brooks White (July 11, 1899 – October 1, 1985) was an American writer. He was the author of several highly popular books for children, including ''Stuart Little'' (1945), '' Charlotte's Web'' (1952), and ''The Trumpet of the Swan'' ...

before ''

Charlotte's Web ''Charlotte's Web'' is a book of children's literature by American author E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams; it was published on October 15, 1952, by Harper & Brothers. The novel tells the story of a livestock pig named Wilbur and his ...

'' was published to inquire about a spider he observed. Gertsch was the one who informed White that the spider was a barn spider (''Araneus cavaticus''). The character Charlotte's full name in the book is "Charlotte A. Cavatica."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gertsch, Willis J. Arachnologists American arachnologists 1906 births 1998 deaths People associated with the American Museum of Natural History 20th-century American zoologists University of Utah alumni University of Minnesota alumni People from Montpelier, Idaho