Charles Henry Fernald (March 15, 1838 – February 22, 1921) was an American entomologist, geologist, and zoologist, who is credited as the first college professor of economic entomology.[1] Fernald grew up at Fernald Point in Mount Desert, Maine, and went on to prepare for college at Maine Wesleyan Seminary before joining the navy in 1862. After receiving a master's degree from Bowdoin College he went on to serve as principal of several academies in Maine. Throughout his career he would document and describe several species of microlepidoptera and in 1886 became the first full-time professor and chair of the natural sciences at what is now the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[2] Fernald Hall and the Fernald Entomological Society at the same institution, are named for him and his son, Henry Torsey Fernald, who would later hold the same position as his father. His wife, Maria Elizabeth Fernald, was a noted entomologist in her own right.

Charles Henry Fernald
Born(1838-03-16)March 16, 1838
DiedFebruary 22, 1921(1921-02-22) (aged 82)
Alma materBowdoin College
University of Maine
Anderson School of Natural History
Known forWork on the eradication of the gypsy moth, first college-level teacher of economic entomology
SpouseMaria Elizabeth Fernald
Scientific career
FieldsEconomic entomology, lepidopterology, geology, natural history
InstitutionsUniversity of Maine
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Doctoral advisorLouis Agassiz
Signature

Selected works

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References

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  1. ^ Ohles, John F., ed. (1978). Biographical Dictionary of American Educators. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 452–453. OCLC 3447005.
  2. ^ Tuckerman, Frederick (1911). Entomology and Zoology at the Massachusetts Agricultural College. Amherst, MA: Massachusetts Agricultural College. OCLC 4687703. Retrieved 2011-06-22.
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  • Charles H. Fernald, YouMass, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Charles H. Fernald Papers, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst