Curran, Charles Howard, 1894-1972

Dates

• Existence: 1894 - 1972

Biographical Note

Abstract:

Charles Howard Curran was an entomologist and curator in the Department of Entomology at The American Museum of Natural History from 1928 to 1960. He contributed significantly to the museum’s collection of Diptera and was internationally known for this specialty and his consulting work in practical entomology control (1). He determined specimens collected during the Belgian Congo Expedition (1909-1915) (2) and participated in the collection of Diptera specimens from Barro Colorado Island in the Panama Canal Zone (1928-1929) (3). Curran contributed many papers and larger works for the discipline, most significantly his manual The families and Genera of North American Diptera (1934) (5).

Chronology:

March 20, 1894 

Orillia, Ontario, Canada 

Born

1916-1918 

England and France 

Served in Canadian Expeditionary Forces during World War I

1922

Ontario Agricultural College

Received B.S.A.

1923

University of Kansas

Received M.S.

1923-1928

Dominion Entomology Branch, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Entomologist in Charge of Diptera and Stored Products Insects

1925

Dominion Entomology Branch, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

First article appears in American Museum of Natural History novitates

1927

American Museum of Natural History, New York

Published article on Diptera collected on American Museum Congo Expedition in Bulletin

1928

American Museum of Natural History, New York

Assistant Curator, Diptera

December 19, 1928 - February 23, 1929

Canal Zone, Panama

Entomological Expedition

1933

University of Montreal

D. Sc.

1934

Published The families and Genera of North American Diptera

1936

American Museum of Natural History, New York

Associate Curator, Department of Entomology

1942-1945

Civilian Defense Voluntary Service, USA

Consulting Entomologist

1944

Columbia University

Began lecturing position on Medical Entomology

1945

Bear Mountain, Palisades, New York

First to privately test DDT for pest control

Director of Insect Control

Palisades Interstate Parks Commission, New Jersey

1945-1960

1947

American Museum of Natural History, New York

Curator, Department of Entomology

June 30, 1960

American Museum of Natural History, New York

Retired, Curator Emeritus

January 23, 1972

Leesburg, Florida

Died

Charles Howard Curran, known to his peers as Howard, was born March 20, 1934 in Orillia, Ontario, Canada. In 1916, pursuing an undergraduate degree at Ontario Agricultural College, Curran collected specimens while serving in England and France during the First world war, later publishing papers on his findings (5). Curran finished his B.S.A. in 1922 and completed his master’s at University of Kansas in 1923. While working as an Entomologist for the Canadian government Curran was loaned Diptera specimens from the American Museum of Natural History for study, and published papers appearing in the Museum’s novitates about his work with their specimens collected on the American Museum Congo Expedition (1909-1915) (3). 

In 1928 Curran joined the staff of the Department of Entomology of the American Museum of Natural History. He was the first Assistant Curator of the department with a specialty in Diptera. Shortly after his hiring Curran went on an expedition to the Canal Zone of Panama to collect specimens (8). During his most active years, Curran expanded the department’s Diptera collection from 100 to 800 drawers, with only a small portion left undetermined at the time of this estimate (6). Overall, Curran published 2,648 taxa in two families of Diptera, with some named in his honor (5).  

Curran obtained his D. Sc. from University of Montreal in 1933. In 1934 Curran published a manual entitled The genera and Families of North American Diptera, an essential contribution to the field. In total Curran published 406 papers, both of scientific and of public interest nature. He often published articles in the magazine Natural History with titles such as “Insect Lore of the Aztecs” (9) and “How Flies Fly” (10). 

During World War II Curran gave much of his attention and expertise to the armed forces and their problems concerning insects, especially in the Pacific region (7). In 1944 Curran took an unpaid lecturer position in Medical Entomology at Columbia University’s medical school, which he continued to do for several years (7). 

From 1945 until his retirement in 1960 Curran shifted his main focus to research and consulting in regards to insect control, which was experiencing much expansion and demand due to the novel development of the chemical DDT. Much of this work took place at Bear Mountain in Palisades Park, New York. As stated in the 1950 Department of Insects and Spiders report, Curran and his colleagues worked “to develop methods of application of the ‘newer’ insecticides…so that the least possible damage will result to non-injurious and beneficial animals and plants” (7). Curran also investigated the safe use of residual sprays indoors to manage house fly populations. 

In 1947, Curran collaborated with the photographer Henry M. Lester and the Sperry Gyroscope Company to capture for the first time a fly in flight. The footage made waves and was widely distributed in the realms of entomology and film. In 1948 Curran wrote about the experience shooting the footage and its signifance in the magazine Natural History (10).  

Curran became a Curator Emeritus of the Department of Entomology upon his retirement from his role at the American Natural History Museum in 1960 (5). He continued to stay involved in the field after relocating from New York City to Leesburg, Florida, which included running an entomology course at the local high school. He died on January 23, 1972 and at the time was survived by his wife, three children and eight grandchildren (5). 

SOURCES 

1. American Museum of Natural History Annual Report, 1959-1960. http://hdl.handle.net/2246/6274 

2. Charles Howard Curran, “Diptera of the American Museum Congo Expedition. Part 1, Bibionidae, Bombyliidae, Dolichopodidae, Syrphidae and Trypaneidae,” Bulletin of the AMNH; v. 57, article 2, p. 33, 1927 https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/1640 

3. Curran, “Four new species of Sobarocephala (Diptera, Clusiidae). American Museum novitates; no. 1029, 1927 https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/4739 

4. Grapevine, v.4-12, 1942-1953, American Museum of Natural History Employee’s Benefit Association. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/7128 

5. Arnaud, Paul H. and Thelma C. Owen. “Charles Howard Curran.” MYIA. Vol. Insect Associates, 1981 

6. Scwharz, H.F. Department of Insect and Spiders. 1944, AMNH Vertical Files, American Museum of Natural History Library.  

7. Personal correspondence, AMNH Vertical Files, American Museum of Natural History Library.  

8. Huntington, E. Irving et al, “A list of the Rhopalocera of Barro Island, Canal Zone, Panama: with descriptions of two new species of Theclinae. Bulletin of the AMNH ; v. 63, article 3” https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/1059 

9. Curran, C.H. “Insect Lore of the Aztecs” Natural History, 1937 https://archive.org/details/naturalhistory39newy/page/n5/mode/2up  

10. Curran, C.H. “How Flies Fly,” Natural History, 1948 https://archive.org/details/naturalhistory5758newy/page/n67/mode/2up

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