Charles H. Fernald
American entomologist, zoologist, naturalist
Died when: 82 years 344 days (995 months)Star Sign: Pisces
Charles Henry Fernald (March 15, 1838 – February 22, 1921) was an American entomologist, geologist, and zoologist, who was credited as the first college professor of economic entomology.
Fernald grew up at in Mount Desert, Maine, and went on to prepare for college at Maine Wesleyan Seminary before joining the navy in 1862.
After receiving a master's degree from Bowdoin College he went on to serve as principal of several academies in Maine.
Throughout his career he would document and describe several species of microlepidoptera and in 1886 became the first full-time professor and chair of the natural sciences at what is now the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Fernald Hall and the Fernald Entomological Society at the same institution, are named for him and his son, , who would later hold the same position as his father.
His wife, Maria Elizabeth Fernald, was a noted entomologist in her own right.