BHS Day 28: Charles Henry Turner

Hi! Today's entry is a little bittersweet; while I'm glad to get back to our regular routine, I'm also a little sad that this is the last entry in this year's BHS series. I'm actually open to doing this for other cultures and the like, so if you have any suggestions for me, drop 'em down below! But we'll talk a bit more about that in our Wrap-Up post tomorrow. On to the Spotlight!

Source

Name: Charles Henry Turner, 1867-1923

Profession: Entomologist, zoologist & educator

Why is the Spotlight on him today? For his accomplishments in the world of etymology and zoology

Accomplishments:
--Was awarded a Doctorate's in philosophy, summa cum laude
--Was the first Black student to receive advanced degrees from both the University of Cincinnati and the University of Chicago
--Was published in a number of esteemed journals, such as the Journal of Animal Behavior, the Biological Bulletin and the Psychological Bulletin
--Was able to discover that insects could hear and distinguish pitch
--Was elected to the St. Louis Academy of Science
--Because of his research, became the namesake for a behavioral pattern of ants known as "Turner's Circling"
--Was the person who made it possible to learn that bees could communicate location, distance and quality of flowers 
--Was the posthumous namesake for a school built for physically disabled children
--Taught at the first African-American high school west of the Mississippi
--Is a large reason behind the contemporary state of animal psychology and behavior through his research and understanding of insects, which was a breakthrough for the industry on several levels
--Was made an honorary member of the Illinois Academy of Science
--Was made a member of the Entomological Society of America
--Championed for the civil and social development of African-Americans in his area
--Was the person to make the discovery that ants could find their way to a nest using both light and smell
--Once served as the chair of the Clark-Atlanta University's Science Department
--Was the person who discovered that honeybees could see color and cockroaches could learn by trial and error
--Served as a delegate to the Seventh International Zoological Congress
--Is the posthumous namesake of an undergraduate program geared to provide support for undergrad students to attend an Annual Conference on animal behavior

Further reading links:
Black on Campus | Wikipedia | OK State Psych Museum | Scientific American

And that was our final entrant in this year's Black History Spotlight! I think we went out on a very high note; Charles Henry Turner was and is still a revered figure in the field of zoology and entomology because of his groundbreaking discoveries. A lot of our understanding of insects came from his research and notes, which allowed scientists to delve even further into what Turner helped us to learn. Please check out today's Further Reading links, even though I'm personally not interested in bugs I found these to be great reads. As always, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you tomorrow!