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Increase A. Lapham
Lapham examining a meteorite which had fallen in Wisconsin in 1868
BornMarch 7, 1811
Palmyra, New York, US
DiedSeptember 14, 1875(1875-09-14) (aged 64)
Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, US
Known forNatural history in Wisconsin
Scientific career
FieldsEcology, natural history, biology, geography
Author abbrev. (botany)Lapham

Increase Allen Lapham (c. 1811 – September 14, 1875)[1] was an American writer, scientist, and naturalist, whose work focused primarily on the what is now the U.S. state of Wisconsin.[2][3] He made maps of the area and published numerous books on the archaeology, biology, and geology of the region, and discovered both the Panther Intaglio Effigy Mound and Milwaukee Formation. He founded the Wisconsin Natural History Association, and served as the state's Chief Geologist for two years. He also lobbied Congress and the Smithsonian Institution to establish an agency to predict the weather around the Great Lakes and this became the National Weather Service.[citation needed]

Biography

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The bivalve Nuculites laphami (Cleland, 1911) from the Milwaukee Formation, Middle Devonian, Wisconsin.

Born in Palmyra, New York, his family moved to Pennsylvania, back to New York, to Ohio then to Louisville, Kentucky (1827–1830) then back to Ohio while his father, Seneca Lapham, worked on the canals in various locations. Lapham was of entirely English ancestry, all of which had been in what is now the United States since the early 1600s. His ancestors were among the first English colonists to establish Rhode Island.[4] He displayed a talent for scientific observation early on while working on the canals and their locks, producing drawings that he could sell at the age of thirteen.[citation needed]

In July 1836, Lapham moved to Kilbourntown (which soon incorporated into the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin) and worked closely with Byron Kilbourn in his business and development endeavors.[5] The two had worked together previously on the Miami Canal and Lapham considered him a loyal friend and mentor. Before the end of the year, Lapham had published a Catalogue of Plants and Shells, Found in the vicinity of Milwaukee, on the West Side of Lake Michigan, perhaps the first scientific work published west of the Great Lakes.[citation needed]

In 1848,[6] Lapham founded the Wisconsin Natural History Association, a predecessor of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters,[7] of which he also was a charter member.[citation needed]

Many of his works and early maps were used for various civil projects such as canal and railroad development. In 1844 Lapham published the first substantial book on the geography of the Wisconsin Territory. His first map of Wisconsin was made in 1846.[8] He published many more papers and books through his life, particularly on geology, archaeology and history, and flora and fauna of Wisconsin, including publication by the Smithsonian Institution.[9]

In 1850, he discovered the Panther Intaglio Effigy Mound, which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[10]

Lapham was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1853,[11] and he was Chief Geologist of the State of Wisconsin from 1873 to 1875.[12] He was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society in 1874.[13]

Lapham was one of the first people to recognize the cement potential of certain rock strata seen along the banks of the Milwaukee River. Those strata, now known as belonging to the Milwaukee Formation, were later mined for high quality natural hydraulic cement. Milwaukee thus went on to become the country's leading producer of natural hydraulic cement from 1876 to 1910.[12]

Honors

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Lapham is considered "Wisconsin's first great scientist"[14] and the "Father of the U.S Weather Service,"[15][16] based upon his lobbying to Congress and the Smithsonian Institution to create such an agency to forecast storms on the Great Lakes and both coasts.[17] When the agency was created through the U.S. Secretary of War, Lapham made the first such accurate Great Lakes storm warning from Chicago.[18]

Since his death, numerous landmarks throughout the southeastern Wisconsin area have been named after him, including Lapham Peak, the highest point in Waukesha County, Wisconsin,[19] a major University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee building,[20] and streets.[21] In Madison, Wisconsin, he currently has an elementary school named after him.[22][23]

A genus of North American plants, Laphamia,[24] was named for him by Asa Gray.[25] Several species of invertebrates from the Paleozoic rocks of Wisconsin, such as Nuculites laphami (Cleland, 1911)[12] and Ekwanoscutellum laphami (Whitfield, 1877),[26] were also named in honor of him. Certain markings found on iron meteors were designated by J. Lawrence Smith[27] as Laphamite markings.[28] A formerly existing glacial lake was provisionally named Lake Lapham.[29] The Wisconsin Archeological Society awards the Lapham Research Medal,[30] first doing so in 1926.[31] The U.S. Navy named a ship SS Increase A. Lapham during World War II.[32] The University of Wisconsin has an Increase A. Lapham Professorship.[33] Lapham was inducted in 1992 into the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame[34] and in 2003 into the Wisconsin Forestry Hall of Fame.[35]

The centennial of Lapham's birth was celebrated in 1911.[36] In 2011, celebration of the bicentennial was planned, including an Increase A. Lapham Day at Aztalan State Park.[37]

Lapham Junction (44°17′51″N 90°28′41″W / 44.29750°N 90.47806°W / 44.29750; -90.47806) in Knapp, Jackson County, Wisconsin, is now defunct railroad junction on the Goodyear branch of the Milwaukee Road which branch ran to Zeda, where lumbering operations took place,[38][39] and was named for Lapham.[40]

Selected works

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Some works of Increase A. Lapham:

Title Date
Notice of the Louisville and Shipping sport Canal and of the Geology of the vicinity 1828 [41]
A Catalogue of Plants & Shells, Found in the Vicinity of Milwaukee, on the West Side of Lake Michigan 1836 [42]
A Geographical and Topographical Description of Wisconsin 1844 [43]
Wisconsin: its geography and topography, history, geology, and mineralogy 1846 [44]
Fauna and Flora of Wisconsin 1852 [45]
The Antiquities of Wisconsin 1855 [46]
On the Man-shaped Mounds of Wisconsin 1859 [47]
Opening an Ancient Mound Near Madison, Wisconsin 1860 [48]
Geological Map of Wisconsin 1855 [49]
Report on the Disastrous Effects of the Destruction of Forest Trees 1867 [50]
New Geological Map of Wisconsin 1869 [51]
Oconomowoc and other Small Lakes of Wisconsin 1876 [52]
The standard author abbreviation Lapham is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[53]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Lapham, Increase, 1811–1875". Wisconsin Historical Society. August 3, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  2. ^ Hoy, P. R. Increase A. Lapham, LL. D., Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. v. 3, 1876, pp. 264–267. (copy) (copy[permanent dead link])
  3. ^ Quaife, Milo M. Increase Allen Lapham, First Scholar of Wisconsin. Wisconsin Magazine of History, v. 1, n. 1, September 1917, pp. 3–15. (copy) (copy) (copy Archived June 26, 2003, at the Wayback Machine)
  4. ^ Graham Parker Hawks, Increase A. Lapham, Wisconsin's first scientist (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1960)[page needed]
  5. ^ Barquist, Barbara; Barquist, David (1987). "The Beginning". In Haley, Leroy (ed.). The Summit of Oconomowoc: 150 Years of Summit Town. Summit History Group. p. 9.
  6. ^ Constitution of the Natural History Association of Wisconsin, 1848 Archived August 4, 2024, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed October 20, 2010.
  7. ^ Shorger, A. W. The Wisconsin Natural History Association Archived August 4, 2024, at the Wayback Machine. Wisconsin Magazine of History, v. 31, n. 2, December 1947, pp. 168–177.
  8. ^ Smith, Alice E. Two Wisconsin Map Makers Archived August 16, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. The Wisconsin Magazine of History, v. 29, n. 4, June 1946, pp. 402–406.
  9. ^ Winsor, Justin. Narrative and critical history of America, v. 1, 1889, p. 400. (copy) (copy)
  10. ^ "Panther Intaglio". Landmark Hunter.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  11. ^ "American Antiquarian Society Members Directory". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
  12. ^ a b c Gass, Kenneth C.; Kluessendorf, Joanne; Mikulic, Donald G.; Brett, Carlton E. (2019). Fossils of the Milwaukee Formation: A Diverse Middle Devonian Biota from Wisconsin, USA. Manchester, UK: Siri Scientific Press. ISBN 978-0-9957496-7-2.
  13. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  14. ^ Janik, Erika, Citizen Scientist – Wisconsin's First Renaissance Man, Increase A. Lapham Merits Renown... Archived August 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine, February 2007.
  15. ^ Hintz, Martin. Hiking Wisconsin. Human Kinetics, 1997, p. 159. ISBN 0-88011-567-X
  16. ^ "206th Birthday of Increase Lapham, Father of the National Weather Service". www.weather.gov. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  17. ^ Miller, Eric R. New light on the beginnings of the Weather Bureau from the papers of Increase A. Lapham Archived June 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Monthly Weather Review, v. 59, iss. 2, February 1931, pp. 65–70.
  18. ^ First Official Weather Warning in the United States Archived January 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, November 8, 1870. Accessed October 10, 2010.
  19. ^ McGrath, Wm. Chad. Great Wisconsin Walks: 45 Strolls, Rambles, Hikes, and Treks. Trail Books, 1997, p. 108.
  20. ^ UWM Campus Maps, Lapham Hall Profile (Virtual Tour) Archived August 5, 2012, at archive.today. Accessed October 10, 2010.
  21. ^ Baehr, Carl & Baehr, Ellen. Milwaukee Streets: The Stories Behind Their Names. Wisconsin: Cream City Press, 1995, pp. 149–150. ISBN 0-9640204-4-0
  22. ^ Heggland, Timothy F. and Rankin, Katherine H. The Tenney-Lapham Neighborhood: A Walking Tour Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Madison Landmarks Commission, 1997, p. 35.
  23. ^ Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin at its Fifty-Second Annual Meeting, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1905, p. 35.
  24. ^ Meehan, Thomas, Horticulture at Milwaukee, The Gardener's Monthly, v. 12, n. 2, 1870, p. 52.
  25. ^ "A Cabinet of Natural History": The UW-Madison Herbarium's Sesquicentennial, 1849–1999 Archived October 9, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Wisconsin Academy Review, v. 45, iss. 2, 1999, p. 31. ISSN 0512-1175
  26. ^ Bergland, Martha; Hayes, Paul G. (2014). Studying Wisconsin: The life of Increase A. Lapham, early chronicler of plants, rocks, rivers, mounds and all things Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Historical Society Press. ISBN 978-0-87020-648-1. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  27. ^ Smith, J. Lawrence A New Meteoric Iron—"The Wisconsin Meteorites"—with some remarks on the Widmannstättan Figures. American Journal of Science and Arts, v. 47 (97), n. 140, March 1869, pp. 271–272. (copy)
  28. ^ Farrington, Oliver C. Handbook and Catalogue of the Meteorite Collection., Chicago: Field Columbian Museum, pub. 3, Geological Series, v. 1, n. 1, August 1895, pl. 2, fig. 1.
  29. ^ Edwards, Ira. Glacial Lake Lapham a Preliminary Announcement, Year Book of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee 1921, v. 1, July 1922, pp. 94–99.
  30. ^ Increase A. Lapham Award, Society Awards and Grants Archived April 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Wisconsin Archeological Society. Accessed October 20, 2010.
  31. ^ Barret, S. A. The Lapham Research Medal Archived October 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, American Anthropologist, v. 28, iss. 3, 1926, pp. 576–577. doi:10.1525/aa.1926.28.3.02a00180
  32. ^ Alkes (SS Increase A. Lapham) Archived December 7, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Accessed October 12, 2010.
  33. ^ Memorial Resolution of the Faculty of the University of Wisconsin—Madison Archived June 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, April 7, 2008. Accessed October 30, 2010.
  34. ^ Increase A. Lapham Archived October 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame, inducted 1992. Accessed April 19, 2011.
  35. ^ Increase A. Lapham, 2003 Inductee Archived March 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Wisconsin Forestry Hall of Fame. Accessed October 12, 2010.
  36. ^ The Dr. Lapham Centennial[permanent dead link], The Milwaukee Sentinel, March 12, 1911, part 3, p. 4.
  37. ^ Nurre, Rob. Increase A. Lapham's Legacy and the Wisconsin Archeological Society[permanent dead link], WisArch News, v. 11 n. 1, Spring 2011, pp. 5–6.
  38. ^ "Ghostly post: The vanished logging post offices of Goodyear and McKenna". December 27, 2012. Archived from the original on August 4, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  39. ^ "Poor's Manual of Railroads". H.V. & H.W. Poor. September 29, 1891. Archived from the original on August 4, 2024. Retrieved October 1, 2021 – via Google Books.
  40. ^ Callary, Edward (2016). Place Names of Wisconsin. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-299-30964-0.
  41. ^ Lapham, Increase A. Notice of the Louisville and Shipping sport Canal and of the Geology of the vicinity, American Journal of Science, v. 14, 1828, pp. 65–69.
  42. ^ Legler, Henry Eduard (1904). "Early Wisconsin Imprints: A Preliminary Essay". Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin at Its Fifty-first Annual Meeting: 118–138.
  43. ^ Lapham, Increase A. A geographical and topographical description of Wisconsin. Milwaukee: P. C. Hale, 1844.
  44. ^ Lapham, Increase A. Wisconsin: its geography and topography, history, geology, and mineralogy. Milwaukee: I. A. Hopkins, 1846. (copy) (copy) (copy)
  45. ^ Lapham, Increase A. Fauna and flora of Wisconsin Archived July 17, 2012, at archive.today, Transactions of the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, v. 2, 1852, pp. 337–419. (copy) (copy) (copy)
  46. ^ Lapham, I. A. The Antiquities of Wisconsin, as surveyed and described by I. A. Lapham, Civil Engineer, etc, on behalf of the American Antiquarian Society. Washington, D. C.: The Smithsonian Institution, June 1855. (copy) (copy)
  47. ^ Lapham, I. A. On the Man-shaped Mounds of Wisconsin. Report and Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin for the years 1857 and 1858, v. 4, 1859, pp. 365–368. (copy)
  48. ^ Lapham, I. A. Opening an Ancient Mound Near Madison, Wisconsin. Milwaukee Daily Sentinel Archived October 21, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, January 2, 1860. Reprinted in the Wisconsin Archeologist, v. 14, n. 3, September 1915, pp. 85–87.
  49. ^ Lapham, I. A. A Geological Map of Wisconsin Archived July 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, 1855. Great Lakes Maps exhibit of the Wisconsin's Water Library. Accessed October 26, 2010.
  50. ^ Lapham, I. A., J. G. Knapp, and H. Crocker, Report on the disastrous effects of the destruction of forest trees, now going on so rapidly in the state of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.: Atwood & Rublee, state printers, 1867. (copy) (copy)
  51. ^ Lapham, I. A. Geologic map of Wisconsin 1869 Archived August 4, 2024, at the Wayback Machine. UWM Libraries Digital Collections, American Geographical Society Library Digital Map Collection. Accessed April 24, 2011.
  52. ^ Lapham, I. A. Oconomowoc Lake, and Other Small Lakes of Wisconsin, Considered with Reference to Their Capacity for Fish-Production, Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. v. 3, 1876, pp. 31–36. (copy) (copy[permanent dead link])
  53. ^ International Plant Names Index.  Lapham.

Further reading

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