Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Thomas Say
open-in-new
<p>Thomas Say (June 27, 1787 – October 10, 1834) was an American <a href="/facts/Entomologist/zTtUNTWm">entomologist</a>, <a href="/facts/Conchologist/QrDIVx60">conchologist</a>, and <a href="/facts/Herpetology/41JyLR79">herpetologist</a>. His studies of insects and shells, numerous contributions to scientific journals, and scientific expeditions to Florida, Georgia, the Rocky Mountains, Mexico, and elsewhere made him an internationally known <a href="/facts/Naturalist/pSlAvbTX">naturalist</a>. Say has been called the father of American descriptive entomology and American conchology. He served as librarian for the <a href="/facts/Academy_of_Natural_Sciences_of_Philadelphia/N5fPIY5e">Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia</a>, curator at the <a href="/facts/American_Philosophical_Society/auqTbV2C">American Philosophical Society</a> (elected in 1817), and professor of natural history at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Pennsylvania/LBBBULox">University of Pennsylvania</a>. </p>