Some Biogeographers, Evolutionists and Ecologists:
Chrono-Biographical Sketches

Hewitt, Charles Gordon (England-Canada 1885-1920)
entomology, conservation

Photo courtesy of Jeff Cumming.

In 1909, at the age of merely twenty-four, Hewitt was made Dominion Entomologist of Canada, and in succeeding years proved to be both a very able administrator, and a leader in the emerging field of economic entomology. His own writings featured an emphasis on medical entomology, especially as related to particular insect pests. His single best known writing now, however, is his The Conservation of the Wild Life of Canada, published posthumously in 1921. Other high points of his career include his central role in the development of the Migratory Birds Treaty of 1916, and the Destructive Insect and Pest Act of 1910. Sadly, Hewitt's brilliant career was cut short when he died of influenza and pneumonia in 1920.

--born near Macclesfield, England, on 23 February 1885.
--1902: B.Sc., Manchester University
--1902-1904: assistant lecturer in zoology, Manchester University
--1903: M.Sc., Manchester University
--1904-1909: lecturer in economic zoology, Manchester University
--1909: D.Sc., Manchester University; emigrates to Canada
--1909-1916: Dominion Entomologist of Canada
--1910: drafts and helps get passed the Destructive Insect and Pest Act
--1912: publishes his House-flies and How They Spread Disease
--1913: president, Entomological Society of Ontario
--1914: publishes his The House-fly, Musca domestica Linn.
--1914-1920: honorary treasurer, Royal Society of Canada
--1915: president, American Association of Economic Entomologists
--1916-1920: Dominion Entomologist and Consulting Zoologist of Canada
--1916-1920: secretary, Advisory Board on Wildlife Protection
--1918: receives gold medal of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
--1918-1919: president, Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club
--dies at Ottawa, Canada, on 29 February 1920.
--1921: posthumously publishes his The Conservation of the Wild Life of Canada

--Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Vol. 14 (1998).
--Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, Ser. 3, Vol. 14 (1920), Proceedings: vi-viii.
--Biographical Dictionary of American and Canadian Naturalists and Environmentalists (1997).
--Canadian Entomologist, Vol. 52 (1920): 97-105.
--American Entomologists (1971).