Special Exhibits, Portraits, History
Brief History of the Biology Library
This collection is on loan from the St. Louis Science Center. These insects, mostly butterflies, were mounted and placed in boxes by the Denton Brothers Company, for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. The collection, consisting of 182 lepidoptera and two beetles in six silver frames, is displayed on the south wall of the upper floor of the Biology Library, (Life Sciences Building, 3rd floor.) These exotic and beautiful butterflies are from all over the world, with the majority being from South America, India and the New England states. An inventory of this collection was completed in 1974 by Washington University student, Jeanie Taylor Cheeseman. A nice source for more information on butterflies and moths is Electronic Resources on Lepidoptera.
The Denton Butterfly collection was a much larger collection which was the work of the four Denton brothers of Wellesley, Massachusetts. Their father, William Denton, was a naturalist and explorer who inspired his children with curiosity about the world and its creatures. The young men accompanied their father on various expeditions and two of them were with him when he died of jungle fever exploring the wilds of New Guinea. After William's death, the young men continued to collect both in their immediate area and extensively in South America.
One of the brothers, Sherman, patented a method for mounting butterflies called the Denton Patent Tablet which not only protects the specimen but puts it in a more beautiful shape than is possible by the older method of impaling with a pin.
Around 1900, the brothers began displaying portions of their world-famous collection throughout the eastern United States. It won gold and silver medals at the International Exposition in Paris in 1900.
Additional information on the Denton Family collectors may be found in "The Townsman", Wellesley, Massachusetts, Thursday, May 24, 1956.
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Thomas S. Hall Book Collection and Display
| The Thomas S. Hall Book Collection and Display honors Thomas Steel Hall, Professor of Biology at Washington University from 1945 until 1978, an eminent historian of science, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 1949 to 1961, University Professor of Zoology, 1961-1971, and of Biology from 1971 until his retirement in 1977. In addition to his University activities, Tom Hall was also the Commissioner of the St. Louis Zoo, a Trustee of the Missouri Botanical Garden and the St. Louis Public Library, and was President of the Little Symphony Society. He was also President of the Board of the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine. For distinguished service to Washington University he was awarded the William Greenleaf Society award in 1970. His love of books and libraries as a place to carry out scholarship prompted the creation of this memorial display. |  |
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The display is located on the West wall of the main (lower)
level of the Biology Library (Life Sciences Building, 2nd floor).
Books, photographs and memorabilia are displayed in a cabinet
which was refinished through the generosity of Tom's wife, Mary
Hall. The cabinet stood in his office in Rebstock Hall for many
years. This information was gathered and the display was created by Professor of Biology Garland E. Allen. |
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A portrait of Edgar Anderson hangs in the entry hallway. Edgar Anderson was Professor of Botany, 1922-31 & 1935-67, Engelmann Professor of Botany, 1937-69, Botanist at the Missouri Botanical Garden, 1922-31 & 1935-69, Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 1954-56. |
There is a permanent display of some honors, photographs and other memorabilia near the New Books Shelf.
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A portrait of Viktor Hamburger hangs in the entry hallway. Viktor Hamburger was Professor of Zoology, 1935-69, Chairman of the Department of Zoology, 1942-66, and Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor of Biology Emeritus, 1969-2001. See also Viktor Hamburger Centenary Symposium - October 20, 2000. Viktor Hamburger died June 12, 2001. |
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The "Rock" at the entrance to the library is a Lepidendron Stigmaria.
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"Lepidodendron: one of the most commonly encountered genera of extinct treelike club mosses, order Lepidodendrales, class (or subdivision) Lycopsida. Some of its species, prominent during the Late Carboniferous Period (ending 286 million years ago), exceeded 30 metres (100 feet) and 1 metre (40 inches) in diameter. It was named originally for twig and branch fragments. Other so-called form genera were subsequently constructed for other parts not known to belong definitely to Lepidodendron: cones (Lepidostrobus), leaves (Lepidophylloides, or Lepidophyllum), seeds (Lepidocarpon), and underground parts (Stigmaria). Later, as more complete specimens were discovered in each genus, many species were created to accommodate them." [from Britannica Online]