Henry Chandler Cowles (February 27, 1869 – September 12, 1939) was an
American botanist and
ecological
Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...
pioneer (see
History of ecology). A professor at 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 ...
, he studied
ecological succession in the
Indiana Dunes
Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation ...
of Northwest Indiana.
[Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2009)]
The Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation
. The South Shore Journal, 3. This led to efforts to preserve the Indiana Dunes.
One of Cowles' students, O. D. Frank continued his research.
Life and work
Born in
Kensington,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
, Cowles attended
Oberlin College in
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. He studied at 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 ...
with the plant taxonomist
John M. Coulter and the geologist
Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin
Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin (; September 25, 1843 – November 15, 1928) was an American geologist and educator. In 1893 he founded the '' Journal of Geology'', of which he was editor for many years.
Biography
Chamberlin was born September 25, 18 ...
as main teachers. He obtained his
PhD in 1898 for his study of vegetation
succession on the
Lake Michigan sand dunes. The inspiration to these studies came from reading ''
Plantesamfund
''Plantesamfund - Grundtræk af den økologiske Plantegeografi'', published in Danish in 1895 by Eugen Warming, and in English in 1909 as ''Oecology of Plants: An Introduction to the Study of Plant Communities'', by Warming and Martin Vahl, was th ...
'' by the Danish botanist and pioneer ecologist
Eugen Warming. Cowles studied Danish to be able to read the original and later (1905) visited Warming in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
. The translation of Warming's term into English as "Oecology" led to Cowles becoming one of the primary popularizers of the term
ecology
Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...
in the United States. Cowles was one of the founding members of the
Ecological Society of America
The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is a professional organization of ecological scientists. Based in the United States and founded in 1915, ESA publications include peer-reviewed journals, newsletters, fact sheets, and teaching resources. I ...
in 1915.
Cowles married Elizabeth Waller in 1900, and their daughter Harriet was born in 1912.
[
]
Legacy
One of Cowles's field study locations is now named ''Cowles Bog'' in his honor; Cowles Bog and nearby dune locations were later preserved for the public as part of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation ...
(national park as of February 2019). Cowles Bog is located west of Mineral Springs Road in the Town of Dune Acres, Indiana.
Among Cowles's students who advanced American ecology were Victor E. Shelford, William Skinner Cooper, Paul B. Sears, George Damon Fuller
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...
, Walter P. Cottam, Arthur G. Vestal and May Theilgaard Watts
May Petrea Theilgaard Watts (1 May 1893 – 20 August 1975) was an American naturalist, writer, poet, illustrator, and educator. She was a naturalist at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, and author of ''Reading the Landscape of America''. ...
. Cowles also served as a special field assistant of the United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...
.
Works
His publications include:
''Ecological Relations of the Vegetation on the Sand Dunes of Lake Michigan''
(1899)
''Text-Book of Botany'', Volume II: Ecology
(1910) (with John Merle Coulter (Volume I, Part I: Morphology) and Charles Reid Barnes (Volume I, Part II: Physiology)
''Plant Societies of Chicago and Vicinity''
(1901)
See also
* Frederic Clements
Frederic Edward Clements (September 16, 1874 – July 26, 1945) was an American plant ecologist and pioneer in the study of plant ecology and vegetation succession.
Biography
Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, he studied botany at the University of Nebra ...
References
External links
Henry C. Cowles, University of Chicago.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowles, Henry Chandler
American botanists
American ecologists
Ecological succession
People from Kensington, Connecticut
Oberlin College alumni
University of Chicago alumni
1869 births
1939 deaths
Presidents of the American Association of Geographers