 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Franklin B. Hough" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Franklin Benjamin Hough (/ˈhʌf/; July 20, 1822 – June 11, 1885) was an American scientist, historian and the first chief of theUnited StatesDivision of Forestry, the predecessor of theUnited States Forest Service. He was among the first to call attention to the depletion of forests in the U.S. and is sometimes called the "father of Americanforestry".
Hough was born inMartinsburg, New York on July 20, 1822 to Dr. Horatio Gates Hough and Martha Pitcher Hough.[1] Martha was a descendant of Andrew Pitcher and Margaret Russell, early settlers of Milton, MA in 1634.[2] Horatio, a physician fromMeriden, Connecticut, was the first medical doctor to settle inLewis County, in the west of theAdirondack Mountains. Horatio Hough died in 1830 when Benjamin was eight years old, at which point he began to go by his middle name, Franklin; he was also a scientist and author.[3]
As a young man, Franklin showed an interest inmineralogy and long hikes. He graduated with a degree fromUnion College inSchenectady in 1843, and in 1846 he was married to Maria Eggleston ofChampion, New York, and a daughter was born, Lola. He also published the first of his major scientific writings,A Catalogue of Indigenous, Naturalized, and Filicord Plants of Lewis Counties, New York. In 1848, he received an M.D. fromWestern Reserve College. The same year, Maria died. In 1857, he had a son,Romeyn Beck Hough, who would also go on to pursue a career in botany and medicine.[4] He was elected as a member to theAmerican Philosophical Society in 1882.[5]
Hough devoted his spare time tonatural history. During this period, he discovered a mineral that would bear his name, Houghite, a local variety ofhydrotalcite. In 1849, he married Mariah Kilham, who, in 1850, bore him a second daughter, Mary Ellen. Seven additional children were born to the couple between 1854 and 1872. In 1852, Hough stepped down from the practice of medicine to concentrate on research and literary pursuits. He lived inBrownville andAlbany and publishedA History of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, New York (1853) andA History of Jefferson County in the State of New York (1854). He wrote prolifically, keeping three or more different manuscripts in progress at the same time in different rooms of his house. Explaining his work habits, he said, "I seek repose in labor."[citation needed]
In 1854, Hough was appointed as superintendent of the 1855New York State census, the first complete census of the state. He returned to Lewis County in 1860 to settle inLowville, New York. The same year, he publishedA history of Lewis County, in the state of New York. In 1862, he started a periodical,The American Journal of Forestry. Due to a lack of subscribers, he retired it after only a year.[citation needed]
In 1861, with the advent of theAmerican Civil War, Hough worked as an inspector for theUnited States Sanitary Commission. In 1862, he enlisted as a surgeon in the97th New York Volunteer Infantry. The same year, he translated French military surgeonLucien Baudens' account of medical conditions during theCrimean War, publishing it asOn Military and Camp Hospitals. He published an account of his war experiences inHistory of Duryee's Brigade (1864). Brigadier GeneralAbram Duryée had commanded the 97th,104th and105th New York Infantry Regiments and the107th Pennsylvania Infantry.[citation needed]
Ten years after supervising the 1855 New York State census, Hough returned to the job of overseeing the 1865 state census. Reviewing the returns, he noted with alarm a declining trend in the availability of timber. Finding additional evidence in the federal census of 1870, which he also supervised, he presented a paper entitledOn the Duty of Governments in the Preservation of Forests to the 1873 meeting of theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science inPortland, Maine.[citation needed]
Hough argued thatMediterranean countries had harmed the environment by excessive harvests of trees, and that a similar problem faced the United States. He proposed regulation of the use of forests and the establishment of forestry schools. As a result of Hough's presentation, the Association formed a committee to educate Congress and state legislatures on the dangers ofdeforestation, and to recommend legislation to avoid it.[6] Hough was appointed to chair the committee. In 1876, as a result of the Association's lobbying, Congress created the office of Special Agent in theU.S. Department of Agriculture to assess the state of the forests and lumber in the United States. USDA CommissionerFrederick Watts appointed Hough to fill the new position.
Hough traveled widely to compile his official 1877Report on Forestry. Congress ordered the publication of 25,000 copies of the 650-page volume. In 1881, the Division of Forestry was created within the Department of Agriculture, with Hough as its first chief. In 1883, Secretary of AgricultureGeorge B. Loring replaced Hough, whom he disliked,[7] withNathaniel Egleston. Hough resumed his previous role as special agent.
Hough died in Lowville on June 11, 1885, aged 62. His home, theFranklin B. Hough House, was declared aNational Historic Landmark in 1963.[citation needed]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
