Thomas Lincoln Casey Jr. (February 19, 1857 – February 3, 1925) was an American army engineer and

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

who was noted for his work on

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

. 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 The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

and oversaw the completion of the

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States, victorious commander-in-chief of the Continen ...

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 (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

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

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

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 is a former military installation in Hampton, Virginia, at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula, United States. It is currently managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth o ...

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 The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. He then served at

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 21,573 at the 2020 census. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vicksburg ...

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

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

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 celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

Later life

Casey died on February 3, 1925 in Washington, D.C. He was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

three days later.

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) American military personnel of the Spanish–American War United States Army colonels Burials at Arlington National Cemetery