Photo: NPS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons¹⁴

Henry Chandler Cowles

American botanist and ecological pioneer (1869–1939)

Henry Chandler Cowles (February 27, 1869 – September 12, 1939) was an American botanist and ecological pioneer. A professor at the University of Chicago, he studied ecological succession in the Indiana Dunes of Northwest Indiana.²

From Wikipedia’s article on Henry Chandler Cowles (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Feb 27, 1869, died Sep 12, 1939.¹

About

This led to efforts to preserve the Indiana Dunes. One of Cowles' students, O. D. Frank continued his research.

From Wikipedia’s article on Henry Chandler Cowles, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.²

Companies

Ecological Society of AmericaFounder¹³

Early life and education

Date not recordedUniversity of Chicago³
Date not recordedOberlin College³

Career

Occupation: botanist, geographer, ecologist.⁸

1918Chairperson, Ecological Society of America^{6 7}
Date not recordedWorked at University of Chicago⁴
Date not recordedFounded Ecological Society of America⁵

Cowles was born in Kensington, Connecticut, the son of the farmer Henry M. Cowles (1831–1915) and Eliza Cowles (née Whittlesey, 1839–1888). He attended Oberlin College in Ohio. He studied at the University of Chicago with the plant taxonomist John M. Coulter and the geologist Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin as main teachers. He obtained his PhD in 1898 for his study of vegetation succession on the Lake Michigan sand dunes. The inspiration to these studies came from reading Plantesamfund by the Danish botanist and pioneer ecologist Eugen Warming. Cowles studied Danish to be able to read the original and later (1905) visited Warming in Copenhagen. The translation of Warming's term into English as "Oecology" led to Cowles becoming one of the primary popularizers of the term ecology in the United States. Cowles was one of the founding members of the Ecological Society of America in 1915.

Cowles married Elizabeth Waller in 1900, and their daughter Harriet was born in 1912.

From Wikipedia’s article on Henry Chandler Cowles (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

BornFeb 27, 1869, Connecticut⁹
DiedSep 12, 1939, Chicago¹⁰
CitizenshipUnited States¹¹
ResidenceUnited States¹²

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

1
WikidataHenry Chandler Cowles on Wikidata
2
WikipediaHenry Chandler Cowles on Wikipedia
3
WikidataHenry Chandler Cowles: education, on Wikidata
4
WikidataHenry Chandler Cowles: Worked at University of Chicago, on Wikidata
5
WikidataHenry Chandler Cowles: Founded Ecological Society of America, on Wikidata
6
WikidataHenry Chandler Cowles: Chairperson, Ecological Society of America, on Wikidata
7
WikidataChairperson, Ecological Society of America, as reported
8
WikidataHenry Chandler Cowles: occupation, on Wikidata
9
WikidataHenry Chandler Cowles: place of birth, on Wikidata
10
WikidataHenry Chandler Cowles: place of death, on Wikidata
11
WikidataHenry Chandler Cowles: citizenship, on Wikidata
12
WikidataHenry Chandler Cowles: residence, on Wikidata
13
WikidataEcological Society of America, Founder
14
Wikimedia CommonsHenry Chandler Cowles photo by NPS, Public domain