Wilmer Webster Tanner ( – ) was an American

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

, professor and curator. He was associated with

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYU), in

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is the fourth-largest city in Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the largest city and county seat of Utah County and is home to Brigham Young University (BYU). Provo lies between the ...

for much of his life and published extensively on the snakes and salamanders of the

Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...

Family

Tanner was born in

Fairview, Utah Fairview is a city in northern Sanpete County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,247 at the 2010 census. History Located at the confluence of the San Pitch River and Cottonwood Creek, Fairview is the largest town in the northeast e ...

, into a

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

family. His paternal grandfather, David Dan Tanner, had immigrated to

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

in 1848. Tanner was the fourth of John and Lois Ann Tanner's five children. One of Tanner's brothers,

Vasco Vasco may refer to: * Basque language, called ''vasco'' in Spanish * ''Vasco'' (album), a two-part EP by Ricardo Villalobos * Vasco da Gama, Portuguese explorer * Vasco da Gama, Goa, a city in India, often called simply Vasco * Club de Regatas Va ...

, was also a naturalist who taught at BYU. On January 4, 1935, in the Salt Lake Temple Tanner married Helen Brown, with whom he had three children. Helen died in 1995, and Tanner married retired BYU instructor Ottella Watson on October 26, 1999. Ottella died November 21, 2003.

Education and career

In 1929, Tanner was a

Mormon missionary Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and commu ...

to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, where he learned Dutch. After his return in 1932, Tanner attended BYU, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1936. Tanner prepared a thesis about the

snakes Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joi ...

of Utah for his Master of Science in 1937. He then began a doctorate, but was delayed by World War II until 1946. At that time, Tanner was working as an assistant for Edward Harrison Taylor at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

. Wilmer obtained his Ph.D. in 1948 with a thesis on

comparative anatomy Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species). The science began in the classical era, continuing in t ...

of salamanders of

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 ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. In 1950, Tanner joined the BYU faculty. Crotaphytus bicinctores

In 1961 it was reported that Tanner, then an associate professor of zoology and entomology at BYU, was in the midst of a four-year study of the effect on Utah wildlife from exposure to higher natural radiation (from petrified trees which can concentrate radioactive minerals), resulting in areas with a 10 to 20

microcurie The curie (symbol Ci) is a non- SI unit of radioactivity originally defined in 1910. According to a notice in ''Nature'' at the time, it was to be named in honour of Pierre Curie, but was considered at least by some to be in honour of Marie Curi ...

higher radiation level per hour than is typical of the surrounding geography.

Museum leadership

Tanner served as the curator of the BYU's Life Sciences Museum from 1972 to 1979. In the late 70s, he helped process a large donation of samples and convinced the donor to fund a new building for the museum. The

Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum The Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum is a natural history museum housed at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah, United States. Description The museum is named for Monte Lafayette Bean, a self-made Seattle-based magnate who entirely ...

opened to the public in 1978 and over the ensuing years increased staff were hired, educational exhibits developed and scientific activities funded. Tanner felt this was the most important aspect of his career and devoted almost a quarter of his autobiography to discussing how the grant was won from Mr. Bean.

Study and work

Tanner's interest in

herpetology Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

was influenced by many people, primarily his brother Vasco Myron Tanner (a professor of zoology and

entomology Entomology () is the science, 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 ...

of Brigham Young University),

Joseph Richard Slevin Joseph Richard Slevin (September 13, 1881 – February 17, 1957) was an American herpetologist and the second curator of herpetology at the California Academy of Sciences, with which he was affiliated for over 50 years. He collected reptile and am ...

of the

California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, California, that is among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens. The Academy began in 1853 ...

, and

Laurence Monroe Klauber Laurence Monroe Klauber (December 21, 1883 in San Diego, California – May 8, 1968), was an American herpetology, herpetologist and the foremost authority on rattlesnakes. He was the first curator of reptiles and amphibians at the San Diego Natural ...

(who gave Tanner access to his collection);

Helen Beulah Thompson Gaige Helen Beulah Thompson Gaige (November 24, 1890 – October 24, 1976) was an American herpetologist, curator of Reptiles and Amphibians for the Museum of Zoology at the University of Michigan, and a specialist in neotropical frogs. Gaige was born ...

, Norman Edouard Hartweg, Clark Hubbs, and Albert Hazen Wright were also influential. Tanner published over 130 scientific articles, fifteen describing new species and genera. He is commemorated in the scientific name of the lizard '' Sceloporus tanneri''. Western terrestrial garter snake juvie

Tanner was a member of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists and the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

, and was one-time president of the Herpetologists' League. He was the publisher of ''Herpetologica'' magazine for 18 years. He has also served as president of the Provo Energy Board.

References

External links

Autobiography
(self published)
Books he coauthored

ObituaryWilmer W. Tanner papers, MSS 7361
a
L. Tom Perry Special Collections

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanner, Wilmer 1909 births 2011 deaths American centenarians American herpetologists American magazine publishers (people) American naturalists American zoologists Brigham Young University alumni Brigham Young University faculty Directors of museums in the United States 20th-century Mormon missionaries Tanner family Latter Day Saints from Utah People from Sanpete County, Utah Men centenarians