Hubbell, Theodore, 1897-1989.

Theodore Huntington Hubbell was professor of entomology at the University of Michigan from 1946 to 1968 and director of its Museum of Zoology from 1956 until his retirement in 1968. Even after his ostensible retirement, Hubbell came to the museum daily and served as "everybody's mentor" until his death in 1989. Hubbell's professional reputation rested on his enduring interest in and extensive writings on Orthoptera, and his local reputation rested on the organizational skills he demonstrated in the administration of space and resources within the museum. Theodore was born in Detroit in 1897 to Clarence (Detroit's Civil Engineer) and Winifred Hubbell. The family spent the years 1907 to 1913 in the Philippine Islands where Clarence worked as civil engineer for Manila and where Theodore first developed his interests in natural history and entomology. The younger Hubbell earned two degrees from the University of Michigan: his B.A. in 1920 and his Ph.D. in 1934, working in the interim as a professor of entomology in Gainesville at the University of Florida.

In one sense Hubbell never left Ann Arbor for, as he continued his doctoral research, he was building up the collection of Orthoptera in the Museum of Zoology. This continuing relationship was doubtless encouraged by Hubbell's mentor, Alexander Ruthven, and by the construction of a new museums building in which to house the burgeoning collections. While in Florida, Hubbell did not stray far from his Michigan roots intellectually as he joined a staff anchored by J. Speed Rogers, another student of Ruthven. Both men took to heart Ruthven's teaching that a systematic understanding of zoology, one that linked historical geography and habitats to the distribution and evolution of insects, was the most rational natural philosophy. This close relationship between environment and fauna was a hallmark of University of Michigan zoologists and may be seen as laying the groundwork for the ecological sciences. Both Rogers and Hubbell returned to the University of Michigan in 1946, Rogers as director of the Museum of Zoology, Hubbell as curator of insects at the museum and professor of entomology.

Rogers' and Hubbell's impact on the museum was immediate and beneficial as they reorganized the extensive holdings of the insects to make them more accessible to the appropriate researchers. They each brought their own considerable area of expertise to play on the museum's holdings of craneflies and grasshoppers. With the unexpected death of Rogers in 1955, Hubbell assumed more obvious control of the administrative aspects of the museum. Under his direction, existing programs of teaching and research were broadened, ties with the zoology department were strengthened, systematic biology came to prominence in the curriculum, and a research wing was added to the museum with monies from the National Science Foundation. Hubbell was instrumental in the formation of the inter-university Organization for Tropical Studies, played a significant role in expanding the study of biological systematics in a number of contexts, and advised the National Science Foundation on facilities and programs most needful to zoological museums. In recognition of his accomplishments and service the University conferred a distinguished faculty achievement award upon Hubbell.

Theodore Hubbell married Grace Griffin in Ann Arbor in June 1927. By so doing, Hubbell linked himself to a family with further ties to the University of Michigan. Grace's uncle, William J. Hussey, was professor of astronomy at the university in 1891-1892 and from 1915 until his death in 1926; William's wife, Ethel Fountain Hussey, was a distinguished alumna whose philanthropy is commemorated by an eponymous room in the Michigan League. Grace's cousin, Roland F. Hussey, taught Ornithology in 1918 and returned (at the behest of Theodore Hubbell) as visiting zoologist specializing in Hemiptera during the 1950s. Another cousin, Russell C. Hussey, was professor of geology during the 1920s and served as assistant to the dean of the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts during the 1930s. Theodore and Grace had three children, Roger, Mary Joan, and Stephen.

From the guide to the Theodore H. Hubbell papers, 1833-1988, 1852-1970, (Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan)