Edward Asahel Birge(September 7, 1851 – June 9, 1950) was an American professor and administrator at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison.He was one of the pioneers of the study oflimnology,and served as acting president of the university from 1900 to 1903 and as president from 1918 to 1925.
Edward Asahel Birge | |
|---|---|
 E. A. Birge in 1918 | |
| President ofUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison | |
| In office 1918–1925 | |
| Preceded by | Charles R. Van Hise |
| Succeeded by | Glenn Frank |
| In office 1901–1903 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Kendall Adams |
| Succeeded by | Charles R. Van Hise |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 7, 1851 Troy,New York |
| Died | June 9, 1950(aged 98) Madison, Wisconsin |
| Alma mater | Harvard University Williams College |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Zoology |
| Thesis | On crustacea cladocera collected in Fresh Pond and Glacialis, Cambridge, Mass., 1876 and at Madison, Wis., 1877(1878) |
| Doctoral advisor | Nathaniel Southgate Shaler |
Birge was born inTroy,New York.He received a bachelor's degree fromWilliams Collegein 1873. He moved on toHarvard University,where he studied underLouis Agassizand was awarded a Ph.D. inzoologyin 1878. While still completing his Ph.D., Birge was appointed an instructor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in natural history in 1875. He was later appointed as dean in 1891.
Birge became known as a scientist and administrator. He served as dean, director of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey,[1]and under PresidentCharles Kendall Adams,unofficial deputy to the president.
In 1900, an ailing Adams left the university. Birge was named acting president in Adams' absence. He hoped to be named permanently to the post, but was passed over in favor ofCharles R. Van Hisein 1903 after a boardroom battle between university regentsWilliam F. Vilas,who favored Birge, and GovernorRobert M. La Follette,who favored Van Hise. Birge remained dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Van Hise died unexpectedly in 1918, and Birge was once again asked to serve as president of the university. This time he was formally named to the post, and served as president until 1925. He was regarded as an efficient administrator but was criticized then and later for refusing to make substantial changes to the university to adapt to the increase in students in the wake ofWorld War I.
From 1921 through 1922, Birge engaged in a running debate withWilliam Jennings Bryan,who consideredevolutiona heresy and labeled Birge an atheist in several speeches. Birge, a lifelongCongregationalistwho had taught Bible classes for most of his professional life, wrote a pamphlet defending evolution as supported by the Bible.
Birge was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Societyin 1923.[2]
Birge and his close collaboratorChancey Judaywere pioneers of North Americanlimnology(the study of inland waters, such asriversandlakes). Together they founded an influential school of limnology onLake Mendota,as a component of the University of Wisconsin. He was assisted by undergraduate studentWilhelmine Key.[3]Birge retired from the administration in 1925 but continued his limnological research until the early 1940s, primarily in partnership with Juday. In 1950 he shared theEinar NaumannMedal of theInternational Association of Limnologywith Juday.[4][5]
He died in 1950.
Birge Hall on theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madisoncampus is named for him.
References
edit- ^"Wisconsin Geological & Natural History Survey".www.uwex.edu.
- ^"APS Member History".search.amphilsoc.org.RetrievedAugust 28,2023.
- ^Wright, Sewall (September 1, 1965)."Dr. Wilhelmine Key".Journal of Heredity.56(5): 195–196.doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a107413.ISSN1465-7333.PMID5323812.
- ^Frey, D.G. (ed.), 1963. Limnology in North America. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison
- ^Naumann-Thienemann Medals.Limnology.org (2010-01-21). Retrieved on 2011-09-01.
- Birge, E.A. Papers, 1897–1954. Wisconsin State Historical Society Archives.
- Frey, D.G. (ed.), 1963. Limnology in North America. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison
- Sellery, G.C.E.A. Birge: A Memoir.Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin–Madison Press, 1956.
Further reading
editNoland, Lowell (1970–1980). "Edward Asahel Birge".Dictionary of Scientific Biography.Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 141–142.ISBN978-0-684-10114-9.
External links
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