Say, Thomas

Say, Thomas,

1787–1843, American naturalist, b. Philadelphia. He went on collecting expeditions to Georgia and Florida and, with Stephen H. Long, to the Rocky Mts. and up the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. He was professor of natural history at the Univ. of Pennsylvania from 1822 to 1828 and spent the rest of his life at Robert Owen's colony in New Harmony, Ind. Called the father of American descriptive entomology, he wrote on paleontology and conchology as well. His complete entomological papers were collected by J. L. Le Conte (2 vol., 1859), and his complete writings on conchology were edited by W. G. Binney (1858).

Say, Thomas

(1787–1834) entomologist, conchologist; born in Philadelphia. He attended Quaker schools, but expanded his childhood interest in natural history by self-teaching. After helping to found the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences (1812), he was appointed zoologist for Major Stephen H. Long's expeditions to the Rocky Mountains (1819) and the sources of the Minnesota River (1823). He became curator of the American Philosophical Society (1821–27), then professor of natural history at the University of Pennsylvania (1822–28). He was so inspired by utopologist Robert Owen that he went to Owen's "ideal community" in New Harmony, Indiana (1825). Although this social experiment failed, Say remained in New Harmony for the rest of his life after leaving his professorship. His exclusively descriptive and taxonomic scientific works include many books and professional articles on American insects, birds, and shells. Considered the father of descriptive entomology in America, his two major works were the three-volume American Entomology (1817–28) and American Conchology (1830–34).