Edward William Nelson(May 8, 1855 – May 19, 1934) was an Americannaturalistandethnologist.A collector of specimens and field naturalist of repute, he became a member of several expeditions to survey the fauna and flora. He was part of a team with Clinton Hart Merriam that took part in the Death Valley Expedition. He also explored theYosemite Valley.A number of vertebrate species are named after him.
Biography
editNelson was born inManchester, New Hampshire,on May 8, 1855, the first son of William and Martha (néeWells) Nelson. Nelson and his brother then lived with his maternal grandparents in the Adirondacks when his father joined the Union Army and mother went to Baltimore as a nurse. Here he fell in love with the wilderness. Nelson moved to Chicago after his father was killed in the Civil War and his mother established a dressmaking business.
In 1871, his large insect collection was lost in theChicago Fireand the family was left homeless.[1]This was the time that he moved focus from insects to birds. He went to Cook County Normal School from 1872 to 1875 where the principal, W. W. Wentworth encouraged him. Nelson also metHenry HenshawandEdward Drinker Copewho helped him develop his interests in birds.[2]
In 1877. Nelson joined theU.S. Army Signal Corps.Spencer Fullerton Bairdwas responsible for selecting Signal Officers for the remoter stations, and would choose men with scientific training who were prepared to study the local flora and fauna. Baird sent Nelson toSt. Michael, Alaska.[2]Nelson was the naturalist on boardUSRCThomas Corwin,which sailed toWrangel Islandin search of theJeannetteexpeditionin 1881. Nelson published his findings in theReport upon Natural History Collections Made in Alaska between the Years 1877–1881(1887). He also published his ethnological findings inThe Eskimo about Bering Strait(1900).
In 1890 Nelson accepted an appointment as a special field agent withthe Death Valley ExpeditionunderClinton Hart Merriam,chief of the Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy,United States Department of Agriculture.After this expedition he was ordered to conduct a field survey inMexico,and Nelson remained in the country for the next fourteen years. Nelson continued to work for theBureau of Biological Surveyuntil 1929, being chief of the bureau from 1916 to 1927.[2]
Thedesert bighorn sheepandNelson's milksnakewere named in his honor. Theholotypeof the milksnake was collected by Nelson andEdward Alphonso Goldmanon July 18, 1897. He worked with Goldman for ten years surveying Mexicanterrestrialvertebrates.Nelson's sparrow(Ammodramus nelsoni) (formerly Nelson's sharp-tailed sparrow; formerly sharp-tailed sparrow) was also named for him.[3]Rodentsnamed in his honor includeAmmospermophilus nelsoni,Chaetodipus nelsoni,Dicrostonyx nelsoni,Dipodomys nelsoni,Heteromys nelsoni,Megadontomys nelsoni,Neotoma nelsoni,Oryzomys nelsoni,Xenomys nelsoni,and the genusNelsonia.The shrewCryptotis nelsoniis also named after Nelson.
In addition toNelson's milk snake,four other reptiles are named in his honor:Nelson's anole,Nelson's tree lizard,Nelson's spiny lizard,andNelson's spotted box turtle.[4]He was the president of theAmerican Society of Mammalogistsfrom 1921 to 1923.[5]He also served as president of theAmerican Ornithologists' Unionand theBiological Society of Washington.He never married.[2]
In 1895, botanists J.M.Coult. & Rose publishedNeonelsonia,amonotypicgenus offlowering plantfrom South America, belonging to the familyApiaceae.[6]Then in 1973, botanists H.Rob. & Brettell publishedNelsonianthus,a genus offlowering plantsfrom Mexico and Guatemala belonging to the familyAsteraceae,also named in Nelson's honour.[7]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Beltz, Ellin (2006),"Biographies of People Honored in the Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America.",Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America – Explained
- ^abcdGoldman, Edward A. (1935)."Edward William Nelson - Naturalist, 1855-1934"(PDF).Auk.52(2): 135–148.doi:10.2307/4077197.JSTOR4077197.
- ^Bell, Edwin L.; et al. (2003),"An Annotated List of the Species-Group Names Applied to the Lizard Genus Sceloporus."(PDF),Acta Zoológica Mexicana,90:103–174
- ^Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011).The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles.Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.ISBN978-1-4214-0135-5.( "Nelson, E.W.", p. 188.).
- ^Biographies of ASM Presidents, American Society of Mammalogists
- ^"NeonelsoniaJ.M.Coult. & Rose | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science ".Plants of the World Online.RetrievedMay 24,2021.[dead link]
- ^"NelsonianthusH.Rob. & Brettell | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science ".Plants of the World Online.RetrievedNovember 1,2021.
- ^International Plant Names Index.E.W.Nelson.
Further reading
edit- Nelson, Edward WilliamThe Eskimo About Bering StraitWashington, Government Printing Office, 1900
- Fitzhugh, William W., Susan A. Kaplan, and Henry B. Collins. 1982. Inua: spirit world of the Bering Sea Eskimo. Washington, D.C.: Published for the National Museum of Natural History by the Smithsonian Institution Press.
External links
edit
- Works by Edward William NelsonatBiodiversity Heritage Library
- Works by Edward William NelsonatOpen Library
- Works by or about Edward William Nelsonat theInternet Archive
- William Fitzhugh video discussing Nelson,can be viewed as part of series19th Century Explorers and Anthropologists: Developing the Earliest Smithsonian Anthropology Collections
