Thomas Lincoln Casey Jr. (February 19, 1857 – February 6, 1925) was an American army engineer and

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 ...

who was noted for his work on

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

. He was the eldest son of Brigadier General Thomas Lincoln Casey (1831–1896), who served as

Chief of Engineers The Chief of Engineers is a principal United States Army staff officer at The Pentagon. The Chief advises the Army on engineering matters, and serves as the Army's topographer and proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs. ...

for the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

and oversaw the completion of the

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and the ...

Military career

Casey was born in

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

. He followed in his father's footsteps and attended the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

at West Point. He entered the Academy in 1875 and graduated second in his class in 1879, when he was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. He was promoted to 1st lieutenant in June 1881 and to captain in July 1888. From 1895 he was assigned to construction of fortifications at

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...

and the Hampton Roads area in Virginia. In July 1898, he was promoted to major and supervised the installation of underwater mines to defend Hampton Roads during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

. He then served at

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vic ...

from 1899 to 1901 and was in charge of Mississippi river improvements at

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

from 1901 to 1906. In 1906, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In 1909, he was promoted to colonel and assigned as engineer secretary to the Lighthouse Board until 1910. Casey retired from the army on November 1, 1912.

Scientific work

He published numerous scientific papers on the subject of

and a monograph, '' Memoirs on the Coleoptera'' (1910–1924). He was also known for contributions to

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies astronomical object, celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and chronology of the Universe, evolution. Objects of interest ...

.R.G. Aitken (1925). ''Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific'', Vol. 37, No. 219, p.26
(PDF)
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Bibliography

Coleopterological works: * Casey T. L. 1910-1924. '' Memoirs on the Coleoptera''. Malacological work: * Casey T. L. 1904
''Notes on the Pleurotomidae with description of some new genera and species''
Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis, volume 14, number 5, pages 123-170.

References

External links

Thos. L. (Thomas Lincoln) Casey Papers
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Casey, Thomas Lincoln 1857 births 1925 deaths People from West Point, New York United States Military Academy alumni United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel Military personnel from New York (state) American entomologists American astronomers Scientists from New York (state)