Maurice Cole Tanquary (November 26, 1881 - October 25, 1944) was a professor of entomology, a member of the

Crocker Land Expedition The Crocker Land Expedition took place in 1913. Its purpose was to investigate the existence of Crocker Land, a huge island supposedly sighted by the explorer Robert Peary from the top of Cape Colgate in 1906. It is now believed that Peary fraud ...

and is considered to be a pioneer in modern

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...

Early life

Tanquary was the son of Thomas J. and Florence A. Tanquaary. He was born and raised in

Lawrenceville, Illinois Lawrenceville is a city in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Illinois, United States, located along the Embarras River. The population was 4,348 at the 2010 census. Lawrenceville is located in southeast Illinois, northwest of Vincennes, In ...

, grew up on a farm and attended local public schools. He furthered his education at

Vincennes University Vincennes University (VU) is a public college with its main campus in Vincennes, Indiana. Founded in 1801 as Jefferson Academy, VU is the oldest public institution of higher learning in Indiana. VU was chartered in 1806 as the Indiana Territo ...

, where he played an active role in the Tau Phi Delta society, contributing to its initial constitution and by-laws. In 1903, he graduated from Vincennes University and subsequently taught at Lawrence County's public schools for four years. Pursuing higher education, he sought degrees at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

, obtaining his AB in 1907, MA in 1908, and PhD in 1912. During his time at the University of Illinois, Tanquary worked as a part-time assistant to the State

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 ...

of Illinois between 1908 and 1909. He also undertook summer studies at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1910 and served as a field agent for the State Entomologist of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

in 1911. Notably, Tanquary played an active role in campus life, founding the Ionian Literary Society and becoming a charter member of the

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

fraternity. He served as the national treasurer of Acacia from 1908 to 1909. After earning his doctorate he became a professor of agriculture at

Kansas State Agricultural College Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

in 1913 where he was given leave to join the Crocker Land Expedition as a zoologist later that year.

Crocker Land Expedition

As the zoologist for the expedition, Tanquary was not involved in the final push to find the island from the village of

Etah Etah is a municipality city which is also the headquarters of Etah District of the Uttar Pradesh state in India.Etah district is a part of the Aligarh Division and is located at the midpoint of the Delhi-Kanpur Highway(NH 91) Known as G.T Road ...

in northern

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

. Instead, he and fellow Illinois alumnus Walter Elmer Ekblaw were stationed at a Danish trading post 120 miles to the south. They became stranded there after Ekblaw was struck with snow blindness and almost ran out of food in 1914. They were rescued just in time in August and returned to Etah. In December 1914 Tanquary and

Donald Baxter MacMillan Donald Baxter MacMillan (November 10, 1874 – September 7, 1970) was an American explorer, sailor, researcher and lecturer who made over 30 expeditions to the Arctic during his 46-year career. He pioneered the use of radios, airplanes, a ...

set off by

dogsled A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing. Traditionally in Greenland and the ...

for southern Greenland in an attempt to send out word that Crocker Land did not exist and that they would need a rescue ship in 1915. During the trip they became lost for ten days in temperatures as low as -50F. Running low on provisions, they had to eat several of their dogs. As luck would have it, they happened upon an Eskimo settlement. MacMillan decided to return to Etah and have Tanquary complete the journey with a Danish trader and an Eskimo guide. After making it to the mail station in southern Greenland, Tanquary made the 400 mile trip back to Etah. Along the way, Tanquary removed his boots and pieces of raw, bleeding skin and flesh fell off his rotting toes. Despite the

frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extreme low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occurs in the han ...

, Tanquary managed to drive his dog team to Etah, where his big toes were amputated. Ekblaw described Tanquary's dash back to Etah as "the grittiest exploit of the expedition." Tanquary's message for help was received and a rescue ship was sent. Unfortunately, the ship became entrapped in ice and Tanquary had to make another trip to the southern tip of the island. The trip began on December 16, 1915, from Etah and ended on April 20, 1916. He was able to catch a ride on a ship going to

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 ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

which he reached on May 20, 1916. He promptly cabled New York asking for a second relief ship to be sent to the party and he made arrangements for his return to the U.S.. The second rescue ship, sent in the summer of 1916, also became stuck in the ice and the expedition was not rescued until 1917. Journals from Tanquary, Walter Ekblaw, Donald and Mirriam MacMillan are available online at th
George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives
website. Digitization of materials at Bowdoin College related to the Crocker Land Expedition funded by the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation in 2016.

Personal life

Tanquary married Josephine Perry of

Manhattan, KS Manhattan is a city and county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. As of the 2020 cen ...

on his return from the expedition. They had a child named Jean who was born in April 1917.

Professional life

He returned to

in 1916 as an assistant professor before becoming as associate professor in 1919. Later in 1919, he became the chief of entomology at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and was named Texas' state entomologist. In 1920 he made a trip to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

to study the

pink bollworm The pink bollworm (''Pectinophora gossypiella''; es, lagarta rosada) is an insect known for being a pest in cotton farming. The adult is a small, thin, gray moth with fringed wings. The larva is a dull white caterpillar with eight pairs of legs w ...

which infested

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

crops. Tanquary was interested in apiculture and resigned in 1923 to enter professional beekeeping in

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

. He joined the

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 ...

College of Agriculture as an entomologist in 1928 and remained there until 1944. While in Minnesota he devoted much of his time to the study of

bees Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

. He was also known as a good teacher who could apply experimental ability to practical manner. Tanquary's family donated his photographs, lantern slides and journals to The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum,

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

, in 2006.

Tanquary Fiord Tanquary Fiord is a fjord on the north coast of the Arctic Archipelago's Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the Quttinirpaaq National Park and extends in a north-westerly direction from Greely Fiord. History Radiocarbon d ...

Ellesmere Island Ellesmere Island ( iu, script=Latn, Umingmak Nuna, lit=land of muskoxen; french: île d'Ellesmere) is Canada's northernmost and List of Canadian islands by area, third largest island, and the List of islands by area, tenth largest in the world. ...

is named for him.MacMillan, Donald, Four Years in the White North, Harper Brothers Publishers, 1918, pg. 353.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanquary, Maurice Cole 1881 births 1944 deaths Crocker Land Expedition Kansas State University faculty People from Lawrenceville, Illinois American entomologists 20th-century American zoologists