Background

Philip Reese Uhler was born on June 3, 1835 in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of George Washington Uhler and Anna Reese Uhler. His father was a prosperous merchant and his great-grandfather, Erasmus Uhler, emigrated to America from England and served in the Revolutionary War.

He began to collect insects after his father had bought a farm near Reisterstown. Uhler's interest in entomology was encouraged by a family friend, John Gottlieb Morris, a well-known entomologist. Although his father set him up in business, Uhler preferred to spend his time studying geology, botany, and entomology.

Education

Uhler's private schooling provided a strong background in Latin and German. He attended Latin School in Baltimore and then Baltimore College.

He studied at Harvard University as a student of Louis Agassiz. He also attended the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard and lectures of some of the university's most notable scientists and naturalists including Asa Gray, Jeffries Wyman, Agassiz and Nathaniel Shaler.

Career

In 1862 Uhler was appointed assistant librarian at the Peabody Institute, working under John Gottlieb Morris. In 1864 Louis Agassiz appointed Uhler to serve as both librarian at the Museum of Comparative Zoology (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and curator of the museum's substantial insect collections. At the same time Uhler taught entomology to Harvard undergraduates and gave a series of lectures at the museum.

Uhler returned to Baltimore in 1867, resuming his position as assistant librarian at the Peabody Institute and in 1870 he was appointed librarian, a position he held for the rest of his life. He was also actively involved in the formation of Johns Hopkins University and in 1876 became one of the first associate professors at the new research university.

Achievements

• One of his earliest papers was the Descriptions of a Few Species of Coleoptera Supposed to be New, published in 1856. In 1860 he wrote his first paper on the insect order, Hemiptera (true bugs), published in 1861. Most of his subsequent entomological papers focused almost entirely on this group. In 1861 his "Synopsis of the Neuroptera of North America", translated from the Latin of Hermann August Hagen, was published by the Smithsonian Institution. Uhler was the foremost American expert on the Hemiptera and corresponded extensively with other entomologists. He described many of the Hemiptera that were gathered by exploring expeditions in the American West and in 1877 the US Geological Survey published his List of Hemiptera of the Region West of the Mississippi River, Including Those Collected by the Hayden Explorations of 1877. During his career Uhler identified about 600 new species of insects. In addition to his entomological work he wrote several geological papers and prepared with N. H. Morison an elaborate five-volume catalog of the Peabody library (1883-1892), which was a model of its kind. Uhler published his last paper "Recognition of two North American species of Cicada" in 1905. his eyesight was severely aggravated in 1907, and he virtually stopped work. Over the course his career, Uhler published about fifty papers and books on entomology, geology, and library science.

Works

More photos

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  • Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Volume 4

    (This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

  • Check-List of the Hemiptera Heteroptera of North America

    ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

  • List Of Hemiptera Heteroptera Of Las Vegas Hot Springs, New Mexico (1904)

    (This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)

  • Report Upon the Insects Collected by P.r. Uhler During the Explorations of 1875, Including Monographs of the Families Cydnidae and Saldae and the Hemiptera Collected by A.s. Packard, Jr., M.d.

    (This historic book may have numerous typos and missing te...)

  • List Of Hemiptera-heteroptera Of Las Vegas Hot Springs, New Mexico, Collected By Messrs. E.a. Schwarz And Herbert S. Barber...

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

  • List Of Hemiptera Of The Region West Of The Mississippi River, Including Those Collected During The Hayden Explorations Of 1873...

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

  • On the Hemiptera-Heteroptera of the Island of Grenada, West Indies...

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

  • Check-List of the Hemiptera Heteroptera of North America...

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

  • Summary Of The Hemiptera Of Japan, Presented To The United States National Museum By Professor Mitzukuri...

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

  • Orthopterological Contributions

    (This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. T...)

Membership

He was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, founder and president of the Maryland Academy of Science, and member of the American Entomological Society, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Entomological Society of Washington, and the Royal Society of the Arts (London).

Personality

He was a modest man but an excellent speaker. Like nearly all great naturalists, he was always ready to help younger workers.

Connections

Uhler was married to Sophia Werdebaugh in 1869 at the English Evangelical Lutheran Church in Baltimore City, Maryland. Sophia died in 1884. Sophia and Philip had a son named Horace Scudder Uhler. On April 29, 1886 Philip married Pearl Daniels of Baltimore, Maryland. They had a daughter named Miriam Uhler.

Father:

George Washington Uhler

He was as a prosperous merchant and had a farm near Reisterstown.

Mother:

Anna Maria (Reese) Uhler

Spouse:

Pearl (Daniels) Uhler

Pearl married Philip Reese Uhler on April 29, 1886 as his second wife. They had a daughter.

Spouse:

Sophia (Werdebaugh) Uhler

She married Philip Reese Uhler as his first wife in 1869. Sophia and Philip had a son.

Great-grandfather:

Erasmus Uhler

He emigrated to America from England and served as a private in the Revolutionary War.

Daughter:

Miriam Uhler

colleague:

Louis Agassiz

He was a professor of zoology and geology at Harvard, headed its Lawrence Scientific School and founded its Museum of Comparative Zoology. In 1864 Agassiz appointed Uhler to serve as both librarian at the Museum of Comparative Zoology and curator of the museum's substantial insect collections.

colleague:

John Gottlieb Morris

He was an amateur naturalist and the first librarian for the Peabody Institute. Uhler was appointed assistant librarian at the Peabody, working under Morris.

Son:

Horace Scudder Uhler

Horace was a Professor Emeritus of Physics at Yale University.