Charles Henry Turner (3 February 1867 – 14 February 1923) was an American zoologist, entomologist, educator, and comparative psychologist known for his pioneering studies on insect behaviour, particularly in bees and ants. He was among the first African Americans to earn a PhD in zoology and made significant contributions to the study of animal cognition.

Charles Henry Turner was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Thomas Turner, a church custodian, and Addie Campbell, a nurse from Lexington, Kentucky. In 1886, he graduated as the valedictorian from Woodward High School before enrolling at the University of Cincinnati. He earned his Bachelor of Science in biology in 1891 and later obtained an M.S. in 1892. His early research focused on neuroanatomy, and his undergraduate thesis summary was published in Science, making him the first African American to receive such recognition.

Turner pursued a PhD at Denison University but had to discontinue the program. He later enrolled at the University of Chicago, where he earned his PhD in 1907, graduating magna cum laude. His dissertation focused on insect behaviour, supervised by renowned zoologists Charles M. Child, Frank R. Lillie, and Charles O. Whitman.

Turner initially worked as a professor at Clark University in Atlanta, where he chaired the Science Department. Later, he became the principal of College Hill High School in Tennessee before moving to Haines Normal and Industrial Institute in Georgia, where he taught biology and chemistry.

In 1908, he joined Sumner High School in St. Louis, where he remained until his retirement in 1922 due to health issues. Despite his qualifications, Turner struggled to secure a permanent academic position at a university, possibly due to racial discrimination. Nonetheless, he continued his scientific work while teaching high school.

Turner published 49 scientific papers, making groundbreaking discoveries about animal cognition. His research challenged the belief that insects acted purely on instinct, instead proposing that they exhibited learning, memory, and problem-solving skills.

Some of his key findings include:

• Insects Can Hear: He was the first to prove that insects, such as cockroaches, can hear and distinguish pitch.
• Honeybee Learning and Memory: His experiments showed that bees use visual patterns and memory to navigate.
• Ant Intelligence: He suggested that ants demonstrate problem-solving abilities, such as constructing bridges from available materials.
• Bees Use Landmarks: Turner demonstrated that burrowing bees remember their home location based on visual cues.

Despite limited resources, Turner conducted much of his research at O’Fallon Park in St. Louis, where he observed insects in their natural habitat.

• The Charles Henry Turner Open Air School for Crippled Children was established two years after his death. It was later renamed Turner Middle School.
• The Animal Behavior Society named its undergraduate diversity program in his honour.
• His work laid the foundation for modern comparative psychology and animal cognition studies.

Charles Henry Turner passed away in Chicago on 14 February 1923 from acute myocarditis and was buried at Lincoln Cemetery at the age of 56.

Text above via Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Children of Charles Henry Turner: Three sons

1. Louise May Young
2. Henry Owen Turner
3. Darwin Romanes Turner

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Henry_Turner_(zoologist)

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