Robert Stanley Breed (October 17, 1877 – February 10, 1956) was an American

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

, born in

Brooklyn, Pennsylvania Brooklyn is an unincorporated community in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community is located along Pennsylvania Route 167, northwest of Hop Bottom. Brooklyn has a post office A post office is a public facility and a ...

. He received a bachelor's degree from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

in 1898, an M.S. from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

in 1899, and a Ph.D. from

Harvard 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 1902. In 1902 he became

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of biology at

Allegheny College he, תגל ערבה ותפרח כחבצלת , mottoeng = "Add to your faith, virtue and to your faith, knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5)"The desert shall rejoice and the blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35:1) , faculty = 193 ...

and was there secretary of the faculty in 1907–1910. He became known especially for his researches on the post-embryonic development of insects and for his contributions to scientific journals on the public milk supply. In 1903 he published ''The Changes which Occur in the Muscles of a Beetle during

Metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...

. In 1913, Breed became head of bacteriology at the

New York Agricultural Experiment Station The New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (NYSAES) at Geneva, Ontario County, New York State, is an agricultural experiment station operated by the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. In August 20 ...

Geneva, New York Geneva is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, Ontario and Seneca County, New York, Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is at the northern end of Seneca Lake (New York), Seneca Lake; all land port ...

. In 1927, he served as president of the

Society of American Bacteriologists The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), originally the Society of American Bacteriologists, is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. It wa ...

. From the 1920s until his death in 1956, he was a principal editor of ''

Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology ''Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology'' is the main resource for determining the identity of prokaryotic organisms, emphasizing bacterial species, using every characterizing aspect. The manual was published subsequent to the ''Bergey's Manu ...

''.

Death and interment

Breed died in 1956, and was buried at the Evergreen Cemetery in Brooklyn Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.

External links

''Journal of Bacteriology'' memorial article, 1956
by Harold J. Conn * {{DEFAULTSORT:Breed, Robert Stanley American science writers American biologists People from Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania 1877 births 1956 deaths Amherst College alumni University of Colorado alumni Harvard University alumni Allegheny College faculty