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(Created page with "'''Herndon Glenn Dowling Jr''' (born April 2, 1921 in Cullman; died 2015 in Talladega) was a noted herpetologist. Dowling was the son of school administrator Herndon Dowling Sr and his wife, Ada Camp Dowling. He attended public schools in Tuscaloosa, graduating in 1938. That summer he and some friends excavated a mosasaur skeleton from a chalk deposit. He published his findings in the ''Journal of the Alabama Academy...")
 
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After the Japanese surrender, Dowling was sent to Tianjin, China on assignment to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) where he helped assess relations between Russian communism and Chinese communism. He spent another eight months as an OSS officer at Parris Island, South Carolina before earning his honorable discharge in [[1946]]. He remained in the Marine Reserves until [[1959]], by which time he held the rank of Captain.
After the Japanese surrender, Dowling was sent to Tianjin, China on assignment to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) where he helped assess relations between Russian communism and Chinese communism. He spent another eight months as an OSS officer at Parris Island, South Carolina before earning his honorable discharge in [[1946]]. He remained in the Marine Reserves until [[1959]], by which time he held the rank of Captain.


After [[World War II]], Dowling enrolled at the University of Florida in Gainseville. He completed a master of science in zoology in [[1948]] with a dissertation on the Black swamp snake, advised by Arnold Grobman. He went on to study Mexican rat snakes for a summer on his way to completing a Ph.D. in zoogeography at the University of Michigan in [[1951]]. His dissertation was completed under the direction of William Gosline.
After [[World War II]], Dowling enrolled at the University of Florida in Gainseville. He joined the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) as a lifetime member while in college, and was twice honored with its Frederick H. Stoye Award for outstanding student work. He completed a master of science in zoology in [[1948]] with a dissertation on the Black swamp snake, advised by Arnold Grobman. He went on to study Mexican rat snakes for a summer on his way to completing a Ph.D. in zoogeography at the University of Michigan in [[1951]]. His dissertation was completed under the direction of William Gosline.


That fall, Dowling began working with Emmett Reid Dunn at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, and as a curatorial assistant for the extensive herpetological collection at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. After Dunn's death in [[1856]] Dowling helped to complete he final work. By then he spent two years teaching at the University of Virginia's Mountain Lake Biological Station in Pembroke and accepted a faculty appointment to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
That fall, Dowling began working with Emmett Reid Dunn at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, and as a curatorial assistant for the extensive herpetological collection at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. After Dunn's death in [[1956]] Dowling helped to complete he final work. By then he spent two years teaching at the University of Virginia's Mountain Lake Biological Station in Pembroke and accepted a faculty appointment to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.


Dowling opposed racial integration of the University and refused to comply with requirements to submit a list of organizations he had worked with and to take an oath of allegiance. His tenure was revoked and his contract was not renewed for [[1959]]. During the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists' annual meeting in San Diego, California he was encouraged to apply for the position of curator of reptiles at the Bronx Zoo in New York City. There he worked with University of Rhode Island herpetologist Vic Hutchison on a program to breed dusky tiger pythons. In [[1967]] he left the zoo during a dispute over animal management and research. He was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to consolidate and publish records of amphibian and reptiles at the American Museum of Natural History. The five-year grant funding expired in [[1972]], but he completed the project, dubbed ''Herpetological Information Search Systems'' (HISS) in June [[1973]] with contributions from the museum and from herpetological societies.
During that year he opposed racial integration of the University and refused to comply with requirements to submit a list of organizations he had worked with and to take an oath of allegiance. His tenure was revoked and his contract was not renewed for [[1959]]. He was made a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science that same year. During the ASIH annual meeting in San Diego, California he was encouraged to apply for the position of curator of reptiles at the Bronx Zoo in New York City. There he worked with University of Rhode Island herpetologist Vic Hutchison on a program to breed dusky tiger pythons. In [[1960]] Dowling joined a committee of the ASIH to describe North American species for the ''Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles'' (CAAR), a project funded by the National Science Foundation. He wrote the snake entries for the catalog, supported by the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR), through [[1973]]. He served one term as president of the Herpetologists' League in [[1962]]–[[1963]], and joined the faculty of New York University as an adjunct professor in [[1965]].


<!--From 1970 to 1973, Herndon was editor of the journal Herpetological Review . He was also editor of the amphibian and reptile section of the journal Biological Abstracts from 1968 to 1973, and consulting editor on reptiles for Encyclopedia Americana from 1968 until his retirement .
In [[1967]] he left the zoo during a dispute over animal management and research. He was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to consolidate and publish records of amphibian and reptiles at the American Museum of Natural History. The five-year grant funding expired in [[1972]], but he completed the project, dubbed ''Herpetological Information Search Systems'' (HISS) in June [[1973]] with contributions from the museum and from herpetological societies. During the same period, Dowling edited the ''Herpetological Review'' journal, and the amphibian and reptile sections of ''Biological Abstracts''. From [[1968]] until his retirement he edited entries on reptiles in the ''Encyclopedia Americana''.


When The Poisonous Snakes of the World , also known as The Navy Manual , was first published in 1962, Herndon reviewed it in Animal Kingdom magazine . He and Sherman A. Minton published another review in the magazine Copeia in 1964 . The manual was originally written for the Office of Naval Intelligence and published for naval personnel to use in the field. The two reviewers thought it was so bad that the Navy asked the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists for a proposal for revision. Minton dealt with sea snakes, Dowling wrote the rest of the reports and organized the layout, and Findlay Russell dealt with venoms. They submitted the manuscript in late 1965, and the revised, second edition was published by the United States Department of the Navy (1968) without attribution to the authors. Herndon was one of the members of the 1960 ASIH Committee on a North American herpetological checklist that created the Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles (CAAR) and received NSF funding for it in 1962. From 1966 to 1973, Herndon wrote the snake entries for the catalog. Although NSF funding expired in 1968, it granted a two-year, unfunded extension through 1970. The ASIH board subsequently declined financial support to continue the publication, so Herndon and the other editors turned to the Society for Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR), which took over the catalog in 1971. From 1965 to 1973, Herndon served as an adjunct professor at New York University (NYU) while working at the zoo and AMNH. He held the same position at the University of Rhode Island from 1974 to 1976. He finally received an associate professorship at NYU in 1973, followed by a full professorship in 1975 until his retirement in 1991 at the age of 70. As at the University of Arkansa, he was instrumental in initiating and expanding field courses. He taught a variety of courses, including herpetology, ecology, evolution, general biology and zoology, vertebrate natural history, and zoogeography.
Dowling was promoted to associate professor at NYU in [[1973]] and to full professor in [[1975]]. He also taught at the University of Rhode Island for two years. He retired from NYU in [[1991]].


Herndon became a life member of the ASIH in 1946. His first meeting was at the University of Florida and he continued to attend follow-up meetings regularly until well after his retirement. Some of his first herpetology articles were published in the journal Copeia . In 1947 and 1949 he was the winner of the Stoye Award for the best student work in herpetology. He was president of the Herpetologists' League from 1962 to 1963 . In 1959 he was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science , in 1960 a Fellow of the Zoological Academy in India , and in 1961 a Fellow of the New York Zoological Society . In 1966 he received the New York Herpetological Society Award and in 1989 the Kauffeld Award from the New York Herpetological Society (NYHS).
<!--In 1960 a Fellow of the Zoological Academy in India , and in 1961 a Fellow of the New York Zoological Society . In 1966 he received the New York Herpetological Society Award and in 1989 the Kauffeld Award from the New York Herpetological Society (NYHS).


Herndon saw himself as a systematic herpetologist with a primary interest in evolution. His main area of ​​research was snake classification, using morphology and scaling, chromosomes, hemipenis morphology, and molecular studies to investigate family relationships. His scale counting methodology was adopted by subsequent herpetologists.
Herndon saw himself as a systematic herpetologist with a primary interest in evolution. His main area of ​​research was snake classification, using morphology and scaling, chromosomes, hemipenis morphology, and molecular studies to investigate family relationships. His scale counting methodology was adopted by subsequent herpetologists.
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==Publications==
==Publications==
* Dowling, Herndon G. (1950) "Studies of the black swamp snake, Seminatrix pygaea (Cope), with descriptions of two new subspecies." Miscellaneous Publications No. 76. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, pp. 1-38
* Dowling, Herndon G. (1950) "Studies of the black swamp snake, Seminatrix pygaea (Cope), with descriptions of two new subspecies." Miscellaneous Publications No. 76. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, pp. 1-38
* U.S. Department of the Navy, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (1968) ''Poisonous Snakes of the World, A Manual for Use By U.S. Amphibious Forces.'' 2nd edition. (Herndon G. Dowling, ed. with Sherman A. Minton and Findlay Russell)


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 13:25, 25 November 2023

Herndon Glenn Dowling Jr (born April 2, 1921 in Cullman; died 2015 in Talladega) was a noted herpetologist.

Dowling was the son of school administrator Herndon Dowling Sr and his wife, Ada Camp Dowling. He attended public schools in Tuscaloosa, graduating in 1938. That summer he and some friends excavated a mosasaur skeleton from a chalk deposit. He published his findings in the Journal of the Alabama Academy of Sciences in 1941.

Dowling earned his bachelor's degree in biology at the University of Alabama in 1942 and enlisted as a private in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. He was admitted to Officer Candidate School at Quantico, Virginia and graduated as a lieutenant second class in March 1943. He married Margaret Purcell the same year.

Dowling trained in photographic reconnaissance in Washington D.C. before being sent to Guadalcanal in 1945. He participated in analysis of aerial photographs of Okinawa and made the suggestion to land the U.S. invasion force on the western side of the island. He was awarded a Distinguished Service Award for his efforts. While assessing a bombed-out school he found an intact 1907 edition of Leonhard Stejneger's Herpetology of Japan and Adjacent Territory, which he picked up and used as a guide to the native snakes of the region. He proceeded to harvest venom from local pit vipers for medical research.

After the Japanese surrender, Dowling was sent to Tianjin, China on assignment to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) where he helped assess relations between Russian communism and Chinese communism. He spent another eight months as an OSS officer at Parris Island, South Carolina before earning his honorable discharge in 1946. He remained in the Marine Reserves until 1959, by which time he held the rank of Captain.

After World War II, Dowling enrolled at the University of Florida in Gainseville. He joined the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH) as a lifetime member while in college, and was twice honored with its Frederick H. Stoye Award for outstanding student work. He completed a master of science in zoology in 1948 with a dissertation on the Black swamp snake, advised by Arnold Grobman. He went on to study Mexican rat snakes for a summer on his way to completing a Ph.D. in zoogeography at the University of Michigan in 1951. His dissertation was completed under the direction of William Gosline.

That fall, Dowling began working with Emmett Reid Dunn at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, and as a curatorial assistant for the extensive herpetological collection at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. After Dunn's death in 1956 Dowling helped to complete he final work. By then he spent two years teaching at the University of Virginia's Mountain Lake Biological Station in Pembroke and accepted a faculty appointment to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

During that year he opposed racial integration of the University and refused to comply with requirements to submit a list of organizations he had worked with and to take an oath of allegiance. His tenure was revoked and his contract was not renewed for 1959. He was made a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science that same year. During the ASIH annual meeting in San Diego, California he was encouraged to apply for the position of curator of reptiles at the Bronx Zoo in New York City. There he worked with University of Rhode Island herpetologist Vic Hutchison on a program to breed dusky tiger pythons. In 1960 Dowling joined a committee of the ASIH to describe North American species for the Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles (CAAR), a project funded by the National Science Foundation. He wrote the snake entries for the catalog, supported by the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR), through 1973. He served one term as president of the Herpetologists' League in 1962–1963, and joined the faculty of New York University as an adjunct professor in 1965.

In 1967 he left the zoo during a dispute over animal management and research. He was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation to consolidate and publish records of amphibian and reptiles at the American Museum of Natural History. The five-year grant funding expired in 1972, but he completed the project, dubbed Herpetological Information Search Systems (HISS) in June 1973 with contributions from the museum and from herpetological societies. During the same period, Dowling edited the Herpetological Review journal, and the amphibian and reptile sections of Biological Abstracts. From 1968 until his retirement he edited entries on reptiles in the Encyclopedia Americana.

Dowling was promoted to associate professor at NYU in 1973 and to full professor in 1975. He also taught at the University of Rhode Island for two years. He retired from NYU in 1991.


Publications

  • Dowling, Herndon G. (1950) "Studies of the black swamp snake, Seminatrix pygaea (Cope), with descriptions of two new subspecies." Miscellaneous Publications No. 76. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, pp. 1-38
  • U.S. Department of the Navy, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (1968) Poisonous Snakes of the World, A Manual for Use By U.S. Amphibious Forces. 2nd edition. (Herndon G. Dowling, ed. with Sherman A. Minton and Findlay Russell)

References

  • Stewart, Margaret M. & Joseph C. Mitchell (2013) "Historical Perspectives: Herndon Glenn Dowling Jr." Copeia, No. 1, pp. 166–172
  • "Herndon Glenn Dowling Jr" (2008) American Men & Women of Science: A Biographical Directory of Today's Leaders in Physical, Biological, and Related Sciences. Gale ISBN 9781414432915
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