Henry Weed Fowler (March 23, 1878 – June 21, 1965) was an American
zoologist
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...
born in
Holmesburg
Holmesburg began as a Village within Lower Dublin Township, Pennsylvania. It is now a neighborhood in the Northeast Philadelphia, Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Holmesburg was named in Honor of Surveyor General of Pennsylvania Th ...
, Pennsylvania.
He studied at
Stanford University under
David Starr Jordan. He joined the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and worked as an assistant from 1903 to 1922, associate curator of vertebrates from 1922 to 1934, curator of fish and reptiles from 1934 to 1940 and curator of fish from 1940 to 1965.
[
He published material on numerous topics including crustaceans, birds, reptiles and amphibians, but his most important work was on fish. In 1927 he co-founded the ]American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) is an international learned society devoted to the scientific studies of ichthyology (study of fish) and herpetology (study of reptiles and amphibians). The primary emphases of the ...
and acted as treasurer until the end of 1927.[
In 1934 he went to Cuba, alongside Charles Cadwalader (president of the ]Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading nat ...
), at the invitation of Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...
to study billfish
The term billfish refers to a group of saltwater predatory fish characterised by prominent pointed bills (rostra), and by their large size; some are longer than . Extant billfish include sailfish and marlin, which make up the family Istioph ...
es, he stayed with Hemingway for six weeks and the three men developed a friendship which continued after this trip and Hemingway sent specimen
Specimen may refer to:
Science and technology
* Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount
* Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...
s to, and corresponded with, both Fowler and Cadwalader afterwards. Fowler named the spinycheek scorpionfish
The spinycheek scorpionfish (''Neomerinthe hemingwayi''), also known as Hemingway's scorpionfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfishes. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.
Taxonomy ...
(''Neomerithe hemingwayi'') in honor of the author. Hemingway learnt a lot about marine life from his two guests, much of which he was said to have used in ''The Old Man and the Sea
''The Old Man and the Sea'' is a novella written by the American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cayo Blanco (Cuba), and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction written by Hemingway that was published during his lifetime. O ...
''.
In 1936-1937 he took part in an expedition to Bolivia.
He died in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Newtown is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,248 at the 2010 census. It is located just west of the Trenton, New Jersey metropolitan area, and is part of the larger Philadelphia metropolitan area. It i ...
.
Publications
*The Fishes of Oceania (1928-1974)
*A study of the fishes of the southern Piedmont and coastal plain (1945)
*The fishes of the groups Elasmobranchii, Holocephali, Isospondyli, and Ostarophysi icobtained by the United States Bureau of fisheries steamer "Albatross" in 1907 to 1910, chiefly in the Philippine islands and adjacent seas (1941)
*The fishes of the families Pomacentridae, Labridae, and Callyodontidae, collected by the United States Bureau of fisheries steamer "Albatross", chiefly in Philippine seas and adjacent waters (1928)
*The fishes of the families Amiidae, Chandidae, Duleidae, and Serranidae : obtained by the United States Bureau of fisheries steamer "Albatross" in 1907 to 1910, chiefly in the Philippine islands and adjacent seas (1930)
*The fishes of the families Pseudochromidae, Lobotidae, Pempheridae, Priacanthidae, Lutjanidae, Pomadasyidae, and Teraponidae, collected by the United States Bureau of fisheries steamer "Albatross," chiefly in Philippine seas and adjacent waters (1931)
*The fishes of the families Banjosidae, Lethrinidae, Sparidae, Girellidae, Kyphosidae, Oplegnathidae, Gerridae, Mullidae, Emmelichthyidae, Sciaenidae, Sillaginidae, Arripidae, and Enoplosidae : collected by the United States Bureau of Fisheries steamer "Albatross," chiefly in Philippine seas and adjacent waters (1933)
*The fishes of the series Capriformes, Ephippiformes, and Squamipennes, collected by the United States Bureau of fisheries steamer "Albatross", chiefly in Philippine seas and adjacent waters (1929-1962)
*The fishes of the George Vanderbilt south Pacific expedition, 1937 (1938)
*Archaeological fishbones collected by E.W. Gifford in Fiji (1955)
*Fishes of the Red Sea and southern Arabia (1956)
*Descriptions and figures of new fishes obtained in Philippine seas and adjacent waters by the United States Bureau of fisheries steamer "Albatross," (1943)
*Fishes of Fiji (1959)
*Fishes of Guam, Hawaii, Samoa, and Tahiti (1925)
*Fishes of the tropical central Pacific (1927)
*A description of the fossil fish remains of the Cretaceous, Eocene and Miocene formations of New Jersey (1911)
*The marine fishes of West Africa : based on the collection of the American Museum Congo Expedition, 1909-1915 (1936)
*Fishes of Hawaii, Johnston Islands, and Wake Island (1925)
*The fishes of New Jersey (1906)
*Fishes of Guam, Hawaii, Samoa, and Tahiti (1925-1976)[https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n80100299/ ]
Taxa named in his honor
*The catfish ''Harttia fowleri
''Harttia fowleri'' is a species of armored catfish that inhabits the Oyapock River basin of Brazil and French Guiana. ''C. fowleri'' is a poorly known species that was caught in rapids along with '' Metaloricaria paucidens''. This species gro ...
'' ( Pellegrin, 1908)
See also
* :Taxa named by Henry Weed Fowler
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler, Henry Weed
1878 births
1965 deaths
American ichthyologists
American zoologists