John Cassin: Difference between revisions
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==Career== |
==Career== |
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Cassin moved to Philadelphia in 1834 and became the head of a [[Lithography|lithographing]] business in which many of his illustrations of birds were later printed.{{sfn|Stone|1901|p=1}} He served for a brief time in the [[Philadelphia City Council]].{{sfn|Stone|1901|pp=1-2}} |
Cassin moved to Philadelphia in 1834 and became the head of a [[Lithography|lithographing]] business in which many of his illustrations of birds were later printed.{{sfn|Stone|1901|p=1}} He served for a brief time in the [[Philadelphia City Council]].{{sfn|Stone|1901|pp=1-2}} |
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Cassin drew, engraved, and colored many of the illustrations published in the [[Pacific Railroad Surveys]]. |
Cassin drew, engraved, and colored many of the illustrations published in the [[Pacific Railroad Surveys]]. |
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In 1833, Cassin, along with 4 colleagues, founded the Delaware County Institute of Science in [[Media, Pennsylvania]].{{sfn|Ashmead|1884|pp=601-602}} |
In 1833, Cassin, along with 4 colleagues, founded the Delaware County Institute of Science in [[Media, Pennsylvania]].{{sfn|Ashmead|1884|pp=601-602}} |
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==Legacy== |
==Legacy== |
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[[File:John Cassin.jpg|thumb |
[[File:John Cassin's Kingbird.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Cassin's Kingbird]] |
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Five birds from North America are named in his honor: the [[Cassin's auklet]], [[Cassin's kingbird]], [[Cassin's vireo]], [[Cassin's sparrow]], and [[Cassin's finch]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Serrano |first1=Elizabeth |title=The People Behind the Birds Named For People: John Cassin |url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/the-people-behind-the-birds-named-for-people-john-cassin/ |website=www.allaboutbirds.org |publisher=Cornell University |accessdate=21 October 2020}}</ref> The periodic cicada ''[[Magicicada cassini]] '' and the mineral [[Lansfordite|Orthoclase Variety Cassinite]] are also named for him.<ref name=minerals/> |
Five birds from North America are named in his honor: the [[Cassin's auklet]], [[Cassin's kingbird]], [[Cassin's vireo]], [[Cassin's sparrow]], and [[Cassin's finch]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Serrano |first1=Elizabeth |title=The People Behind the Birds Named For People: John Cassin |url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/the-people-behind-the-birds-named-for-people-john-cassin/ |website=www.allaboutbirds.org |publisher=Cornell University |accessdate=21 October 2020}}</ref> The periodic cicada ''[[Magicicada cassini]] '' and the mineral [[Lansfordite|Orthoclase Variety Cassinite]] are also named for him.<ref name=minerals/> |
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Revision as of 16:30, 24 October 2020
John Cassin | |
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| Born | September 6, 1813 |
| Died | 10 January 1869 (aged 55) |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Illustrations of the Birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British and Russian America (1853–56). |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Ornithology, Naturalist |
John Cassin (September 6, 1813 – January 10, 1869) was an American ornithologist from Pennsylvania. He worked as Curator and Vice President at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. He was one of the founders of the Delaware County Institute of Science and published several books describing numerous species of birds. Five species of North American birds are named in his honor.
Early life and education
Cassin was born in Upper Providence Township, Pennsylvania on September 6, 1813. He was educated at the Westtown School in Westtown, Pennsylvania.[1]
Career
Cassin moved to Philadelphia in 1834 and became the head of a lithographing business in which many of his illustrations of birds were later printed.[2] He served for a brief time in the Philadelphia City Council.[3]
Cassin drew, engraved, and colored many of the illustrations published in the Pacific Railroad Surveys.
In 1833, Cassin, along with 4 colleagues, founded the Delaware County Institute of Science in Media, Pennsylvania.[4]
He was elected curator of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences in 1842.[2] From 1846 to 1850, Thomas Bellerby Wilson, a wealthy patron of the Academy, became interested in the department of ornithology and procured a collection of over 25,000 birds.[5] The Academy had the largest ornothological collection in the United States at the time and included an extensive collection of non-North American species.[6] This exceptional collection of birds allowed Cassin to become the leading ornithological taxonomist in the world. Cassin described 194 new species of birds.[5]
Cassin described many new bird species and revised a number of families in the Academy's publications. His more extensive publications include Birds of California, with descriptions and colored engravings of fifty species; Synopsis of the Birds of North America; Ornithology of the United States Exploring Expedition; Ornithology of the Japan Expedition; Ornithology of Gillis's Astronomical Expedition to Chile; and chapters on raptorial birds and waders in Ornithology of the Pacific Railroad Explorations and Surveys.[7] He also co-authored Birds of North America (1860) with Spencer Fullerton Baird and George Newbold Lawrence.
Martha Maxwell was a student of Cassin at the Academy of Natural Sciences from 1862 to 1869.[8]
Cassin was elected Vice President of the Academy of Natural Sciences in 1864.[2]
He died in 1869 of arsenic poisoning caused by his handling of bird skins preserved with arsenic.[9] His collection of 4,300 birds was purchased for $500 by John Whipple Potter Jenks for Brown University's museum of natural history.[10]
He is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.
Legacy
Five birds from North America are named in his honor: the Cassin's auklet, Cassin's kingbird, Cassin's vireo, Cassin's sparrow, and Cassin's finch.[11] The periodic cicada Magicicada cassini and the mineral Orthoclase Variety Cassinite are also named for him.[1]
In 1901, the journal of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club was renamed Cassinia in his honor.[12]
Bibliography
- Catalogue of the caprimulgidae in the Collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1851
- Illustrations of the Birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British, and Russian America. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1856
- United States Exploring Expedition. During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842. Under the Command of Charles Wilkins, U.S.N., Philadelphia, C. Sherman & Son, 1858
Citations
- ^ a b "Minerals". www.delcoscience.org. Delaware County Institute of Science. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ a b c Stone 1901, p. 1.
- ^ Stone 1901, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Ashmead 1884, pp. 601–602.
- ^ a b Stone 1901, p. 3.
- ^ Barrow 1998, p. 24.
- ^ Ashmead 1884, pp. 673–675.
- ^ Barrow 1998, p. 43.
- ^ Fuller, Harry. "Cassin of Philadelphia". www.towhee.net. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ Annual Report of the President to the Corporation of Brown University. 1869. p. 12.
- ^ Serrano, Elizabeth. "The People Behind the Birds Named For People: John Cassin". www.allaboutbirds.org. Cornell University. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- ^ Sutton, Clay (2006). Birds and Birding at Cape May. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. p. 4436. ISBN 978-0-8117-3134-8. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
References
- Ashmead, Henry Graham (1884). History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. L.H. Everts & Co.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Barrow, Mark V., Jr. (1998). A Passion for Birds: American Ornithology After Audubon. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-04402-3.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Stone, Witmer (1901). Cassinia: A Bird Annual. Proceedings of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club of Philadelphia, Issues 5-9. Delaware Valley Ornithological Club.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help)
External links
- Works of John Cassin at the Biodiversity Heritage Library
- Cassin's Sparrow blog at CassinsSparrow.org – Long-running science blog that explores the history of Cassin's Sparrow's discovery, what we've learned about the species since, and why it matters.
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