John Lawrence LeConte
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John Lawrence LeConte (May 13, 1825 – November 15, 1883) was an American entomologist of the 19th century, responsible for naming and describing approximately half of the insect
taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
known in the United States during his lifetime,Bird Name Biographies
- URL retrieved September 14, 2006
including some 5,000
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of beetles. He was recognized as the foremost authority on North American
beetle 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 ...
s during his lifetime, and has been described as "the father of American beetle study".Evans, Arthur V., and James N. Hogue. 2004. Chapter 1: A Brief History of Beetle Study in California. ''Introduction to California Beetles''. University of California Press. , as excerpted a

- URL retrieved September 16, 2006


Early life

A member of the scientifically inclined LeConte family, John Lawrence was born 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 ...
, the son of naturalist
John Eatton Le Conte John Eatton Le Conte, Jr. (sometimes John Eatton LeConte or John Eaton Leconte) (February 22, 1784 – November 21, 1860) was an American naturalist. He was born near Shrewsbury, New Jersey, the son of John Eatton Le Conte and Jane Sloane ...
. His mother died when John Lawrence was only a few months old, and he was raised by his father. Most reliable sources spell his name "LeConte" or "Leconte", without the space used by his father, and samples of his signature show the preference for "LeConte". He graduated from
Mount Saint Mary College Mount Saint Mary College is a private Catholic college in Newburgh, New York. It was founded in 1959 by the Dominican Sisters. The campus overlooks the Hudson River, halfway between New York City and Albany. More than 2,700 men and women are ...
, Emmettsburg, Maryland, in 1842, and from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, in 1846. While still in medical college, in 1844, John Lawrence traveled with his cousin
Joseph LeConte Joseph Le Conte (alternative spelling: Joseph LeConte) (February 26, 1823 – July 6, 1901) was a physician, geologist, professor at the University of California, Berkeley and early California conservationist. Early life Of Huguenot descent, h ...
to the
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. Starting at
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...
, they visited
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and
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
and traversed
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,
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
,
Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
and
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
before returning up the Ohio River to
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
and on to New York. John Lawrence published his first three papers on beetles that year. Having inherited enough money to make him independent, LeConte did not practice medicine professionally.


Travels

After graduating from medical college John Lawrence LeConte made several trips west, including to
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
via
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
in 1849. While in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, he sent 10,000 beetles preserved in alcohol back to his father. Another 20,000 beetle specimens were lost in a fire in 1852. LeConte also traveled to
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
and Algiers. He spent two years exploring the
Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...
, and was in Honduras for the building of the Honduras Interoceanic Railway, and in
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
and
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
with the party surveying for the
Kansas Pacific Railroad The Kansas Pacific Railway (KP) was a historic railroad company that operated in the western United States in the late 19th century. It was a federally chartered railroad, backed with government land grants. At a time when the first transcontine ...
. He moved to
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
in 1852, residing there for the rest of his life. He died in Philadelphia on November 15, 1883.


Military service

During the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 â€“ May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
he served as a surgeon with the
California Volunteers California State Volunteer Units 1861 – 1866 The following are California State Volunteer Units that were active between 1861 – 1866 serving in the Union Army, most west of the Rocky Mountains in place of Federal troops: California Brigade ...
, reaching the rank of
lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
.


U.S. Mint

In 1878 he became the chief clerk (assistant director) of the
United States Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; tha ...
in Philadelphia. He retained that position until his death in 1883.


Scientific societies

LeConte was active in the scientific societies of his time, with stints as vice-president of the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
(1880–1883) and president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1873). He was a founder of the American Entomological Society, and a charter member of the National Academy of Sciences.


Legacy

The genera '' Lecontella'', ''
Lecontellus ''Lecontellus'' is a weevil genus.Kuschel, G. 1989: The Nearctic Nemonychidae (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Entomologica Scandinavica, 20: 121-171. References External links * Weevil genera {{Weevil-stub ...
'', ''
Lecontia ''Lecontia'' is a genus of conifer bark beetles in the family Boridae The Boridae are a small family of tenebrionoid beetles with no vernacular common name, though recent authors have coined the name conifer bark beetles. The family contains ...
'', and ''
Contia ''Contia'' is a small genus of snakes in the family Colubridae. The genus is endemic to North America. Etymology The generic name, ''Contia'', is in honor of American entomologist John Lawrence LeConte John Lawrence LeConte (May 13, 1825 â ...
'' and several hundred species (mostly beetles) are named after him, including a bird, LeConte's thrasher (''Toxostoma lecontei''), which he discovered while on a beetle-collecting trip to
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, AlÄ­ á¹£onak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, and was named after him by
George Newbold Lawrence George Newbold Lawrence (October 20, 1806 – January 17, 1895) was an American businessman and amateur ornithologist. Early life Lawrence was born in the city of New York on October 20, 1806. From his youth, Lawrence was a lover of birds and s ...
. LeConte communicated with and collected birds and other natural history specimens for Spencer Fullerton Baird, a distant cousin and assistant director and then director of the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
for a total of 39 years. In turn Baird asked other naturalists to collect beetles for LeConte. In the 1850s, LeConte collected some crystals from a cave in Honduras being mined for bat guano. It was later found to be a new mineral that was named " lecontite" in his honor.


Works

* *''Catalogue of the Coleoptera of the United States.'' (1853)
Frederick Ernst Melsheimer Frederick Ernst Melsheimer, M.D. (1782–1873; first name also spelled Friedrich) was an American entomologist noted for his work on Coleoptera. He was President of the American Entomological Society in 1853. Frederick Ernest Melsheimer's most ...
, revised by
Samuel Stehman Haldeman Samuel Stehman Haldeman (August 12, 1812 – September 10, 1880) was an American naturalist and philologist. During a long and varied career he studied, published, and lectured on geology, conchology, entomology and philology. He once confided, ...
and John Lawrence LeConte *''Classification of the Coleoptera of North America'' (1861, 1873) *''New Species of North American Coleoptera'' (1866, 1873) * *''Classification of the Coleoptera of North America. Part II'' (1883) - with
George Henry Horn George Henry Horn (April 7, 1840 – November 24, 1897) was a U.S. entomologist who specialized in the study of beetles. Born in Philadelphia, Horn attended the University of Pennsylvania, from which he graduated with a degree in medicine in 1861 ...


Notes


References

* * * * * * * *"John Lawrence LeConte" (1936). ''Dictionary of American Biography'', Charles Scribner's Sons. *


External links

*Samuel Henshaw (1878
''The entomological writings of John L. Leconte''
:Dimmock's special bibliography. no. 1 Cambridge, Massachusetts, The editor (George Dimmock), 1878. {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Conte, John Lawrence 1825 births 1883 deaths American entomologists Coleopterists Union Army surgeons Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Scientists from New York City 19th-century American people Mount St. Mary's University alumni Burials at West Laurel Hill Cemetery Members of the American Philosophical Society