Herman Spieth
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Herman Spieth (21 August 1905 – 20 October 1988) was an American zoologist and university administrator. He was the first
chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of the
University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...
from 1956 to 1964. Originally hired as a professor in the
Life Sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, the ...
Department, he was responsible for administering UCR's change from a liberal arts college to a major research university. Spieth Hall at UCR is named after him. Spieth served the
University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
for 20 years, first as
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
Zoology 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 ...
and Chairman of the Department of Life Sciences at the newly founded UC campus at Riverside, and then as provost and the first chancellor of the Riverside campus, and finally as chairman of the Department of Zoology at UC Davis. He retired in 1973 and devoted full-time to his research on the
evolutionary biology Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes (natural selection, common descent, speciation) that produced the diversity of life on Earth. It is also defined as the study of the history of life fo ...
of
Drosophila ''Drosophila'' () is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or (less frequently) pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species ...
.


Biography


Early years

Spieth grew up as a farm boy in
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
where a childhood of
hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
,
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
, and
farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
stimulated an early interest in
biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
. He began his studies at Indiana Central College where, his parents felt, a year of study would qualify him for a
high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
teaching Teaching is the practice implemented by a ''teacher'' aimed at transmitting skills (knowledge, know-how, and interpersonal skills) to a learner, a student, or any other audience in the context of an educational institution. Teaching is closely re ...
position. He took to the academic life and majored in zoology. Graduating in 1926, he went on to
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...
, where he worked under
Alfred Kinsey Alfred Charles Kinsey (; June 23, 1894 – August 25, 1956) was an American sexologist, biologist, and professor of entomology and zoology who, in 1947, founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Instit ...
studying the
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
and
taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
of
mayflies Mayflies (also known as shadflies or fishflies in Canada and the upper Midwestern United States, as Canadian soldiers in the American Great Lakes region, and as up-winged flies in the United Kingdom) are aquatic insects belonging to the orde ...
, and received his
Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
in 1931.


Career

From 1932 to 1953 (with a hiatus during the war) Spieth was at the College of the City of New York, where he taught a diversity of courses—
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 ...
, field biology, general biology and
parasitology Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it fo ...
. During this time he was also a lecturer in the Graduate Division at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, where he taught a course on the biology of insects. He also taught
marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...
and freshwater biology during some summers at the Cold Spring Harbor Biological Laboratories on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
, and was visiting professor at the
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
and 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 ...
where he also taught summer courses. From 1932 to 1953 he was also a Research Associate with a laboratory at the
American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...
. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Spieth was a
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in the
Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
, serving as head of the Navigation Department at Cochran Field in Macon,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
, and later as assistant director of the School for Altitude Physiology in
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. He became friends with
Theodosius Dobzhansky Theodosius Grigorievich Dobzhansky (russian: Феодо́сий Григо́рьевич Добржа́нский; uk, Теодо́сій Григо́рович Добржа́нський; January 25, 1900 – December 18, 1975) was a prominent ...
at Columbia University and
Ernst Mayr Ernst Walter Mayr (; 5 July 1904 – 3 February 2005) was one of the 20th century's leading evolutionary biologists. He was also a renowned Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist, tropical explorer, ornithologist, Philosophy of biology, philosopher o ...
at the American Museum of Natural History, both of whom encouraged him to explore the mating behavior of Drosophila. At the Museum he was also associated with
Frank Beach Frank Ambrose Beach, Jr. (April 13, 1911 – June 15, 1988) was an American ethologist, best known as co-author of the 1951 book ''Patterns of Sexual Behavior.'' He is often regarded as the founder of behavioral endocrinology, as his publication ...
and
Edwin Colbert Edwin Harris "Ned" Colbert (September 28, 1905 – November 15, 2001)O'Connor, Anahad ''The New York Times'', November 25, 2001. was a distinguished American vertebrate paleontologist and prolific researcher and author. Born in Clarinda, Iowa, he ...
and others. A new period of Spieth's professional life began with his move, in 1953, to a newly established
Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
campus of the University of California. At UCR he organized the Division of Life Sciences and assembled its initial faculty. In 1956 he was appointed Provost and two years later, when UCR became a general campus, Spieth became its first chancellor. During his years at UCR he taught general biology, and continued to serve as a laboratory teaching assistant even after he became chancellor. His term as chancellor was busy as he presided over the change to a general campus, directed the construction of new buildings, established the
Philip L. Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center The Philip L. Boyd Deep Canyon Desert Research Center is one of the original seven of the total 39 sites in the University of California Natural Reserve System. It contains lands originally donated to the University by regent Philip L. Boyd in 19 ...
, facilitated the development of graduate programs and successfully managed the "student problems of the 60s" which entailed the delicate task of maintaining order while protecting academic freedom. In 1964 he stepped down as chancellor and after a sabbatical leave moved to the Davis campus where he became chair of the Department of Zoology. In this capacity he presided over the major expansion of the department, including the planning and construction of Storer Hall, the new home for the department. He also acquired undeveloped land on the campus for field research which subsequently was designated the Herman T. Spieth Natural History Preserve. While engaged in these activities, at the same time he personally participated in experimenting with new teaching methods for large classes—in his case, General Biology. Many former students from this period and back to his early years in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
have great praise for him as a teacher. During his career he served on a great many university committees, but his profound interest in education extended beyond his university. He was appointed to the Committee on Biological Sciences Curriculum of the
American Institute of Biological Sciences The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is a nonprofit scientific charity. The organization’s mission is to promote the use of science to inform decision-making and advance biology for the benefit of science and society. Overvie ...
and also served on several accreditation committees of the
Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was an organization providing School accreditation, accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary school, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, ...
. Most of Spieth's lifelong research activities were evolutionary in nature: systematics, behavior, especially mating behavior, and evolutionary
ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...
. In his early work the organism of interest was the mayfly (Ephemeroptera). He constructed the definitive systematics of this organism while working out the basic ecology of many of the species. He then turned to the genus Drosophila. These studies were started in New York—with the collaboration of Dobzhansky and his group, and continued for the rest of his career. He focused on mating behavior and
concomitant Concomitance is the condition of accompanying or coexisting. A concomitant is something that accompanies something else. Concomitant or concomitance may refer to: * Concomitance (doctrine), a Christian doctrine * Concomitant (classical algebraic ...
sexual isolation. He first worked out the basic experimental techniques for analysis and then proceeded to describe the evolution of mating behavior throughout the genus, which was a pioneering contribution to a now flourishing field. Later on he was one of the founders of the Hawaiian Drosophila project, which is now comparable to, and in some way surpasses, the evolutionary studies of Darwin's finches. He participated as guest investigator at the Genetic Foundation at the University of Texas, Austin (the initial mainland headquarters) and on numerous occasions as visiting colleague at the University of Hawaii. He contributed much to the ecological description of this species as well as applying his special expertise in describing their mating behavior and his was a substantial contribution to the synthesis of their evolutionary relationships. Most of this research was done during the Davis period and a great deal of it during his emeritus years. His final years were spent studying the ecology of Drosophila in the Blodgett Forest in the Sierra Mountain Range near Davis. His last paper was a description of these findings published in the Pan Pacific Entomologist in 1988. His first publication was also on ecology, describing the bottom fauna of
Lake Wawasee Lake Wawasee, formerly Turkey Lake, is a natural lake southeast of Syracuse in Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. It is the largest natural lake wholly contained within Indiana. It is located just east of Indiana State Road 13. History Lak ...
, Indiana. This was published in 1928. His contribution to science thus spanned 60 years.


Citations


References

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spieth, Herman American entomologists United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II 20th-century American zoologists University of Indianapolis alumni Indiana University alumni Chancellors of the University of California, Riverside 1905 births 1988 deaths United States Army Air Forces officers 20th-century American academics