Lawrence Monroe Klauber
2
Laurence Monroe Klauber Laurence M. Klauber (1883 in San Diego, California – 1968), was an American herpetologist, and was consid- ered to be the foremost authority on rattlesnakes. He was also a busines sman, inventor, and may have been the first to make an important discovery in mathematics. 1 Bus ine ssman and in ve nto r Bef ore beco ming a herp etol ogis t, Kla uber wor ke d fo r many years the San Diego Gas & Electric Company. He worked his way up in the company from an electric sign salesman, to become president, then chairman and CEO of the whole compan y. He also hel d 7 U.S. patents for his electrical inventions. 2 Herpet ol og y In 1923 the newly opened San Diego Zoo asked Klauber to identify several species of snake the y acquired. Even though reptiles were not much more than a hobby to him at the time, he took the job and eventually became Cu- rator of Reptiles at the zoo. In tha t posi tio n, he dedi - cated the following 35 years of his life to the study of reptiles, and rattlesn akes in particular. The end result of that incredible amount of time and amassed data was his magnum opus, a two volume set of books entitled Rat- tlesnakes: Their Habits, Lif e Histories and Influ ence on Mankind , whi ch he publis hed in 1956. It is stil l consi d- ered to be the most complete and authoritative resource eve r written on rattlesna kes. In his research and field work, he is credited with iden- tifying 53 new taxa of reptiles and amphibians (such as Ari zon a eleg ans cand ida, Ch ionactis palarostri s , Pituophis catenifer pumilis , and Charina bottae umbratica) and has been recognized by his fellow herpetologists by having had 14 new taxa named after him (such as Crotalus lep- idus klauberi , Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi , Hypsiglena torquata klauberi , and Sphaerodactylus klauberi ). He do- nated approximately 36,000 specimens to the San Diego Natural History Museum, and his personal library and notes were donated there upon his death. 3 Ma themat i cs Kla uber is tho ug ht to ha ve pr opo sed Ulam’s spi ral , an im- portant diagram in which prime numbers tend to form diagonal lines, more than thirty years before Ulam, the mathemati cian credited with its invention. [1] 4 Re f erences [1] Pegg, Jr., Ed (July 17, 2006). “Prime generating poly- nomials”. Mat h Games . Math emat ica l Associ ati on of America. Retrieved 5 July 2010. • San Diego Natural History Museum: Laurence M. Klauber • Shaw, Char le s E. (1969). “Laure nc e Monr oe Klauber, 1883-1968”. Copeia 1969 (2): 417–4 19. JSTOR 1442107. 1
-
Upload
menilanjan89nl -
Category
Documents
-
view
213 -
download
0
description
Lawrence Monroe Klauber, biologist, wikipedia
Transcript of Lawrence Monroe Klauber
-
Laurence Monroe Klauber
Laurence M. Klauber (1883 in San Diego, California 1968), was an American herpetologist, and was consid-ered to be the foremost authority on rattlesnakes. He wasalso a businessman, inventor, and may have been the rstto make an important discovery in mathematics.
1 Businessman and inventor
Before becoming a herpetologist, Klauber worked formany years the San Diego Gas & Electric Company. Heworked his way up in the company from an electric signsalesman, to become president, then chairman and CEOof the whole company. He also held 7 U.S. patents forhis electrical inventions.
2 Herpetology
In 1923 the newly opened San Diego Zoo asked Klauberto identify several species of snake they acquired. Eventhough reptiles were not much more than a hobby to himat the time, he took the job and eventually became Cu-rator of Reptiles at the zoo. In that position, he dedi-cated the following 35 years of his life to the study ofreptiles, and rattlesnakes in particular. The end result ofthat incredible amount of time and amassed data was hismagnum opus, a two volume set of books entitled Rat-tlesnakes: Their Habits, Life Histories and Inuence onMankind, which he published in 1956. It is still consid-ered to be the most complete and authoritative resourceever written on rattlesnakes.In his research and eld work, he is credited with iden-tifying 53 new taxa of reptiles and amphibians (such asArizona elegans candida, Chionactis palarostris, Pituophiscatenifer pumilis, and Charina bottae umbratica) and hasbeen recognized by his fellow herpetologists by havinghad 14 new taxa named after him (such as Crotalus lep-idus klauberi, Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi, Hypsiglenatorquata klauberi, and Sphaerodactylus klauberi). He do-nated approximately 36,000 specimens to the San DiegoNatural History Museum, and his personal library andnotes were donated there upon his death.
3 MathematicsKlauber is thought to have proposed Ulams spiral, an im-portant diagram in which prime numbers tend to formdiagonal lines, more than thirty years before Ulam, themathematician credited with its invention.[1]
4 References[1] Pegg, Jr., Ed (July 17, 2006). Prime generating poly-
nomials. Math Games. Mathematical Association ofAmerica. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
San Diego Natural History Museum: Laurence M.Klauber
Shaw, Charles E. (1969). Laurence MonroeKlauber, 1883-1968. Copeia 1969 (2): 417419.JSTOR 1442107.
1
-
2 5 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES
5 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses5.1 Text
Laurence Monroe Klauber Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_Monroe_Klauber?oldid=668389794 Contributors: AlanLiefting, Valrie75, Will Orrick, Rjwilmsi, Dawson, Open2universe, Autarch, Number9111, Waacstats, Plindenbaum, Addbot, Light-bot, Yobot, Speculos, DrilBot, Full-date unlinking bot, Animalparty, RjwilmsiBot, Sorryunlucky, VIAFbot, KasparBot and Anonymous:4
5.2 Images File:Drer_-_Rhinoceros.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/D%C3%BCrer_-_Rhinoceros.jpg Li-
cense: Public domain Contributors:Original artist: Albrecht Drer
File:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg License:PD Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Scientist.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Scientist.svg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors:Own work Original artist: Viktorvoigt
5.3 Content license Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
Businessman and inventorHerpetologyMathematicsReferences Text and image sources, contributors, and licensesTextImagesContent license
