| Charles Henry Turner |
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Charles Henry Turner was born February 3, 1867 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Charles attended the University of Cincinnati and in 1891 he received his B.S. and in 1892 he got his M.S. Then in 1907 he received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. At both Universities he was the first African American to receive his degrees there. Mr. Turner was a zoologist and was interested in learning more about the insects. In order to be able to study them more he chose to teach at a high school. By doing this he would have more time to make observations of the insects without having much interference. Turner liked to study insects thoroughly. He wanted to know what exactly made them have their habits and how they performed different things. Over the course of his time he published 49 papers on invertebrates. Some of the papers were Habits of Mound-Building Ants, Experiments on the Color Vision of Honeybee, Hunting Habits of an American Sand Wasp and Psychological Notes on the Gallery Spider. Because he was so intend on learning things about insects he made some very astonishing discoveries. Mr. Turner was able to actually prove insects can hear and distinguish a pitch. He was also able to prove the cockroaches learn from trial and error and the honeybee can actually see color. Even though Turner was a serious learner about insects and devoted a lot of time to them he had another struggle he was involved with very regularly. He wanted to obtain social and educational services for African Americans in St. Louis, Missouri. Turner died on February 14, 1923 from acute myocarditis in Chicago. After his death a school for disabled African American children was named in his honor. Mr. Turner is resting in the Lincoln Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois. |
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