Charles Henry Turner (1867-1923)

1. Charles Henry Turner(1867-1923)

2. The Man • African American scientist • Entomologist • Relevance in Psychology Behavior/Techniques of insects

3. Early Life • Born in 1867 in Cincinnati, OH • Parents: Thomas Turner and Addie Campbell • Poor upbringing • Interest in nature and insects • Thirst for knowledge • Woodard High School Valedictorian

4. Family/Personal Life • Married Leontine Troy in 1887 strange death • Three children • Remarried Lillian Porter in 1908 Married until 1923 death

5. Importance of Education • Animals are prejudiced against animals unlike themselves, and the more unlike they are the greater the prejudice, but with humans, dissimilarity of minds is a more potent factor in causing prejudice than unlikeness of physiognomy -Charles H. Turner (1902)

6. Zeitgeist • Education & racial harmony • 1887 Jim Crow Laws • 1902 article: “Will Education of the Negro Solve the Race Problem?” W.E.B DuBois Booker T. Washington

7. Zeitgeist • Behaviorism • Existence of mind in lower animals • Animal influence Ivan Sechenov William Small E.L. Thorndike Ivan Pavlov

8. Historical Influences • Charles Darwin - On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection • Radl - Two reasons insects can hear • Romanes - Moth observation • Sir James Lubbock - Ants, Bees, Wasps, A Record of Observations on the Habits of the Social Hymenoptera • Tuner’s son: Darwin Romanes

9. The Student and Scientist • 1889: Attended the University of Cincinnati • 1891: B.S. degree in Biology • 1892: M.S. degree in Biology • 1907: First African-American granted a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago (Zoology)

10. Professional Obstacles/Struggles • Racism and Isolation • Inability to secure an academic appointment at a university • Limited Resources • Lack of Recognition

11. The Experimenter and Author • Animal Behavior • Unconventional subjects (including ants, bees, wasps, spiders, cockroaches, crustaceans, moths, pigeons, and plants) • Complex apparati • Integrated field and laboratory research and conducted experiments in both environments

12. Publications, Publications, Publications! Turner published some 70 scientific papers, including: • 1891: “Morphology of the avian brain.” (his first publication – completed as partial performance of his B.S. degree) • 1892: “Psychological notes upon the gallery spider.” • 1906: “A preliminary note on ant behavior.” • 1910: “Experiments on color-vision of the honey bee” • 1914: “An experimental study of the auditory powers of the giant silkworm moths, Saturniidae” • 1924: (Last publication – posthumous): “A new field method of investigating the hydrotropisms of fresh-water invertebrates”

13. Research, Experiments, & Clinical Data

14. C.H. Turner (1910). Experiments on color-vision of the honey bee. Biological Bulletin, 19, 257-279. • “Whether insects can or cannot distinguish color is a matter of much theoretical importance, for the correct interpretation of the relation of insects to flowers depends upon this answer.” • Red, Blue, and Green colored disks, “cornucopias,” and boxes in a field of white sweet clover • Results/Conclusions - Conclusive evidence that honey bees can see color! • Bees responded to color when it was deemed significant (e.g. a source of honey/food) • It is not the scent/odor of the food source alone that attracts the bees (they would pass by some of the disks loaded with “more than a thousand times as much honey as any one of those flowers did nectar”) • Other Observations • Orienting Flight and Memory Pictures • Lack of Recognition – Von Frisch controversy

15. C.H. Turner (1914). An experimental study of the auditory powers of the giant silkworm moths, Saturniidae. Biological Bulletin, 27, 325-332. • Early morphological assumptions concluded that insects possessed an auditory sense for 2 reasons (Romanes, etc.): • Many insects are capable of producing sounds • Insects possess organs that seemed structurally fitted to act as receptors of sound waves • Turner sought to provide empirical proof to supplant such morphological assumptions • One of the first Classical Conditioning experiments with insects • 2 Main Conclusions: • Moths can hear • Their response seems to depend on whether or not the sound has a life significance (e.g. is suggestive of a predator)

16. Giant Silkworm Moths, cont. Part I – All Subjects • Subjects • 79 S. cecropia • 104 P. cynthia • 41 C. promethea • 81 T. polyphemus • Setup • Out of doors insectary • North wall almost entirely wire netting • 3 wooden, windowless, walls and shelf rests supported by ground – wooden floor also on ground but unattached to the walls or shelf rests • Heavy swinging shelf suspended from ceiling by picture wire (subjects kept on this shelf) • “Since I always stood on the floor when sounding any of the instruments, [precautions were taken so that] it was impossible for the vibrations to reach the moths by any medium other than the air” (pg. 325). • Materials • Adjustable Organ Pipe • Adjustable Pitch Pipe • Edelmann’s Galton Whistle

17. Giant Silkworm Moths, cont. • Method • Instrument sounded 5 times at 1 minute intervals • Records made of moths’ behavior – movement of wings as though about to fly = “response” • Measured Response, and Effects of Age, Temperature, and Mating • Results • Cecropia, cynthia, and promethea all responded to a wide range of sound waves • Of the 78 polyphemus, only 3 responded in any way…

18. Giant Silkworm Moths, cont. Part II – Only polyphemus • Hypothesis about unresponsiveness: • The species is deaf and responses were the result of some factor overlooked by the investigator, or • Responses are expressions of emotion and polyphemus has a “sluggish temperament” • Known: • Moth is exceptionally unresponsive to all ordinary stimuli • Moth is “protectively colored” and inconspicuous in certain situations, AND inconspicuous coloration might be correlated with the instinct to remain rigidly immobile in the presence of all ordinary stimuli • Test subjects: freshly emerged polyphemus • Materials: organ pipe set to 256 vibrations/second • Trial: pipe sounded – no visible response from moth

19. Giant Silkworm Moths, cont. • Method: • Organ Pipe sounded 5x in rapid succession • Insect roughly handled for a few minutes – tossed about, gently squeezed, and thrown on its back • Repeated several times • Once moth quieted, pipe sounded 5 more times

20. Giant Silkworm Moths, cont. • Results: • Each time pipe sounded, moth waved wings vigorously • Experimentally caused moth to associate disagreeable experience with certain sounds and to respond to sounds it previously would/did not respond to • Polyphemus can hear too! • Experiments induced state of nervous excitability, causing the moths to respond • 2 Conclusions (reiterated!) • Moths can hear • Their responses are expressions of emotion to sounds that have life significance

21. The Scholar and Teacher • 1891: Contributor to The Journal of Comparative Neurology • Student of Clarence Luther Herrick • 1892-1893: Assistant instructor in Biological Laboratory at the University of Cincinnati • 1893-1905: Professor of Biology & Chair of the Science Department at Clark University • 1905-1906: High School Principal of College Hill High School • 1907: Elected as a Delegate at the Seventh International Zoological Congress and Secretary of the Animal Behavior Section

22. The Scholar and Teacher cont. • 1907-1908: Professor of Biology and Chemistry at Haines Normal and Industrial Institute • 1908-1922: High school teacher at Sumner High School (St. Louse, MO) • Starting salary $1080/year • He continued to publish during his years at Sumner • 1910/1912: Elected to membership in the St. Louis Academy of Science • 1912: The Crises magazine honors Turner as one of the “Men of the Month”

23. Strengths • Theory • Insects can hear • Ants • Can form practical judgments • Do not slavishly follow odor trails back to the nest/home • Light rays a factor • Have definite impressions of direction, including both horizontal and vertical orientation and distance • Can be trained to do simple things, just like vertebrates • Beth and Wasmann • Individual differences • Principles accepted • Could be used to make predictions • Publisher • 70 scientific papers • Studies • Initiated 1st controlled vision and pattern in honey bees

24. Weaknesses • Later Standing • Bee • Lacks adequate control of brightness • Addressed but not resolved • Anecdotal • Ammophila • Behavior • Genes and environment, nature vs. nurture

25. His Influences & Contributions • Entomology • Dissertation- “The Homing of Ants: An Experimental Study of Ant Behavior.” • Key figure in ant behavior • Techniques • Learning of invertebrate species • Emphasis on training variables • Intertrial interval • Intercession interval

26. Influences & Contributions cont. • Behaviorism (Comparative Psychology) • Watson- term “behavior” from Turner’s A Preliminary Note on Ant Behavior • France • Turner’s Circling – A type of ant behavior • T.C. Schneirla • Learning and Orientation in ants • “For this contribution and for his emphasis of the learning ability of ants, Turner’s place in the literature should not be a minor one.” • Comparative Neurology • Contributed to Vol. 1 (1891) of The Journal of Comparative Neurology • “Neurology” Journal- Clarence Luther Herrick

27. In His Honor • 1954: Charles Henry Turner Middle Branch (formerly Charles Henry Turner Open Air School for Crippled Children, 1925, St. Louis MO) • Belief that air was helpful to those suffering from tuberculosis

28. Charles Henry Turner MEGA Magnet Middle School (1999) • Mega-Multimedia Electronic Graphic Arts • Traditional skills along with computer skills, dimensional drawing • A multi-racial school for 6th-8th grade students • Upon graduation, students can enter Sumner High School http://locations.slps.org/location

29. Tanner-Turner Hall • Clark College • Animal Behavior Society • Poster session • Goal- increase diversity and encourage researchers from minority and all age • Abramson, C.I., L.D. Jackson, & C.L. Fuller (Eds.) (2003). Selected Papers and Biography of Charles Henry Turner (1867-1923): Pioneer of Comparative Animal Behavior Studies (Black Studies Vol.17). Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press.

30. M.E. Ross (1997). Bug Watching with Charles Henry Turner. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books. • a biography/activity book for children

31. Charles Henry Turner House http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/planning/heritage/agendas/2005/OCT_items/CharlesHTurnerNR.pdf

32. Summary • Turner believed in the power of educating both the mind of black and white in an effort to rid society of ignorance and promote tolerance. • His work can be applied to various fields, including: Psychology, Neurology, Zoology, and Biology • In spite of the racism of his time, the inability to secure academic appointment at a university, limited resources, and a persistent lack of recognition, he published over 70 scientific articles and was the first African-American to be published in several journals

33. Summary • His work focused on animal behavior and he is credited (among other things) with demonstrating that: • Ants have definite impressions of direction and distance, and, like vertebrates, they can be trained to do simple things • Honey bees can see color and are not attracted to food sources based on scent alone • Moths can hear and their responses are emotional expressions to sounds that have life significance • Ultimately gave evidence to show that humans, animals, and insects are a lot a like.

35. References • Abramson, C. I. (2003). CharlesHenry Turner: Contributions of a forgotten African-American to scientific research. Retrieved May 22, 2006, from http://psychology.okstate.edu/museum/turner/turnermain.html. • Abramson, C.I., L.D. Jackson, & C.L. Fuller (Eds.) (2003). Selected Papers and Biography of Charles Henry Turner (1867-1923): Pioneer of Comparative Animal Behavior Studies (Black Studies Vol.17). Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press. • Guthrie, R. V. (2004). Even the rat was white: A historical view of psychology (2nd ed., 163-164). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. • Haines, D.E.(1991). The contributors to Volume 1 (1891) of The Journal of Comparative Neurology: C.L. Herrick, C.H. Turner, H.R. Pemberton, B.G. Wilder, F.W. Langdon, C.J. Herrick, C. von Kupffer, O.S. Strong, T.B. Stowell. Dec 1;314(1):9-33. Retreived May 22, 2006, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=1797877&dopt=Abstract • Jackson, D. M. (n.d.). Who was Charles Turner? Retrieved May 26, 2006, from http://www.indiana.edu/~animal/Turner/WhoWasTurner.html. • J. B. W. (1907). A preliminary note on ant behavior (review). Psychological Bulletin, 4(9), 300-301. • Magnet Middle Schools. Retreived June 7, 2006, from http://www.slps.org/websites/rcc/Turner%20MEGA%2004%2005.html. • Planet Science. (n.d.). Charles Henry Turner (1867-1923). Retrieved June 1, 2006, from http://www.planet-science.com/text_only/outthere/black_history/turner.html. • Sammons, V. (1990). Blacks in science and medicine. New York: Hemisphere Publishing. • Schneirla, T. C. (1929). Learning and Orientation in Ants. Comparative Psychology Monographs, 6 (no.4) p. 21-24. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins Press. • Schultz, D.P. & Schultz S. (2004). A History of Modern Psychology (8th ed., 261-262). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. • Turner, C. H. (1906). A preliminary note on ant behavior. BiologicalBulletin, 12, 31-36. • ---. (1907). Do ants form practical judgments? Biological Bulletin, 13, 333-344. • ---. (1910). Experiments on color-vision of the honey bee. Biological Bulletin, 19, 257-279. • ---. (1914). An experimental study of the auditory powers of the Giant Silkworm Moths (Saturniidae). Biological Bulletin, 27, 325-332. • Turner, C. H. & Schwarz, E. (1914). Auditory powers of the Catocala Moths: An experimental field study. Biological Bulletin, 27, 275-29. • Welcome to the Ville. Retrieved June 7, 2006 http://stlouis.missouri.org/greaterville/history.htm.