Cowles, Henry Chandler, 1869-1939

Cowles was a botanist at the University of Chicago and a pioneer in the study of ecology. Cowles extensively studied sand dunes of the Great Lakes. Through extensive field trips, Cowles and other Chicago ecologists produced a collection of more than 4500 photographs documenting natural environments between 1891-1936.

Henry Chandler Cowles, botanist, University of Chicago alumnus and faculty member in the Department of Botany, pioneered the study of ecology. Born in Connecticut in 1869, he attended Oberlin College, where the Cowles family was a prominent part of the community.

Beginning with his graduate studies under John M. Coulter, Cowles explored the interactions between plants and other elements of the natural world. His thesis, "The Ecological Relations of the Vegetation on the Sand Dunes of Lake Michigan" (1898), was based on field work in the Indiana Dunes. This comprehensive study of plant succession established Cowles's reputation as an ecologist, and quickly became one of the most influential works in American botany. His second major study, The Physiographic Ecology of Chicago and Vicinity; A Study of the Origin, Development, and Classification of Plant Societies (1901), extended his theories of succession to show that plant life in any setting developed in relationship to other communities and forces in the environment.

Cowles then focused on teaching and field study, publishing very little. A popular and influential teacher, Cowles led group field trips to the Indiana Dunes, as well as Maine, Alaska, New Mexico, California, Utah and Texas. Drawn to the department by his theories and inspirational teaching, many of Cowles's students went on to positions in universities and research institutions, where they continued to advance the field of ecology.

Instrumental in the foundation of the Ecological Society of America, Cowles also served as editor of the Botanical Gazette, and headed the Association of American Geographers, the Botanical Society of America, and the Phytogeography and Ecology section of the International Botanical Congress. His conservation activities led to the formation of national and regional public parks, including Starved Rock State Park, Cook County forest preserves, and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

In 1900, Cowles married Elizabeth Waller. Their daughter Harriet was born in 1912. Cowles died in 1939.

Henry Chandler Cowles came to the University of Chicago as a graduate student in 1895 to study under John M. Coulter a noted botanist at the newly formed university. Cowles's Ph.D. thesis entitled "The Ecological Relations of the Vegetation on the Sand Dunes of Lake Michigan" completed in 1898 detailed Cowles's theory on plant evolution in relation to geographic situation. That is, the closer one moves inland the more advanced along the evolutionary chain the plant species become.[1] Cowles based his thesis on observations made along Lake Michigan in Dune Park, Indiana. His thesis was published in Botanical Gazette in 1899 and its popularity led to Cowles becoming known as the first professional ecologist.[2] Cowles published The Physiographic Ecology of Chicago and Vicinity; A Study of the Origin, Development, and Classification of Plant Societies (1901) two years later that furthered his theory of plant succession and constant state of evolution.

Cowles began teaching at the University of Chicago in 1897 and initiated field trips with his classes in order to study ecological sites. The earliest trips were to Dune Park, Indiana the same location Cowles used in his thesis. Later excursions took place in Michigan, Indiana, Alaska, Colorado, and Maine, among others. The most common classes to include field excursions were Cowles's Elementary Ecology (Botany 3, Botany 203), Field Ecology (Botany 36, Botany 336) and Physiographic Ecology (Botany 34, Botany 234, Botany 334).[3]

Beginning in September 1898 with a trip to North Manitou Island, Cowles's field ecology classes made several trips to Michigan that continued sporadically through about 1923.[4] Cowles and associates including George D. Fuller and W.J. Cribs photographed the plants, dunes, forests, plants, trees, and students on these trips. These photographs illustrate interesting ecological and environmental elements in their original settings and over time. Cowles became chair of the department in 1925 and retired from the university in 1934. He passed away in 1939.

The University of Chicago Special Collections (http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/spcl/) holds many of the originals photographs. An effort has been made by the Library of Congress's American Memory project to digitize many of Cowles's photographs. see: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/collections/ecology/index.html.

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