Slater, Jas. H. (James Harvey), 1826-1899

A gold miner turned teacher, James Harvey Slater came to Marysville (later Corvallis) Oregon from the California gold fields in 1850.

A gold miner turned teacher, James Harvey Slater came to Marysville (later Corvallis) Oregon from the California gold fields in 1850.

He took a law degree while also teaching school, and in 1854 was appointed clerk of the District Court of the Oregon Territory. Also in that year he married Elizabeth Gray. He later returned to mining in eastern Oregon and then established a law practice in 1864 at La Grande. He was elected Prosecuting Attorney for the 5th Judicial District in 1866, served in the U.S. Congress from 1871-1873, and was a U.S. Senator from Oregon from 1879-1885.

James Slater was born on January 10, 1920, in Belvidere, Illinois, and spent his childhood in Rockford, Illinois . After receiving his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Illinois, Slater earned his Ph.D. in entomology at Iowa State University . A world renowned expert in entomology, Slater joined the University of Connecticut faculty in 1953 and retired in 1988. Slater was an expert on heteropteran insects, also known as "true bugs," or more commonly, "typical bugs." He published his research on the topic in A Catalogue of the Lygaeidae in 1964. His interest in insects brought him around the world, and he collected insects in Africa, Australia, Central America and the West Indies .

While at UConn, Professor Slater served as the head of the zoology and entomology departments, and as head of the systematic and evolutionary biology and biological sciences group. He also served as president of the Society of Systematic Zoology, the Connecticut Chapters of Phi Beta Kappa, the Connecticut Entomological Society, and as the Connecticut State Ornithologist.

Slater's research interests extended outside of entomology. He also applied his scholarly attentions to the study of gravestones and milk glass, and published books on both topics.

James Slater died in 2008.