In Friday’s article by Marty Forth about the history behind the Andrews-Richards House, we were greatly surprised to learn that Iowa State University can claim to be the home institution for the founder of the field of ecology, Ellen H. Richards.

ISU is a truly great university, having invented the first computer, among other achievements, but little did we practicing ecologists realize that we owe our professions to this famous woman who also founded the fields of home economics and dietetics, in addition to the American Association of University Women.

Actually, we should not have been surprised, since it seems everything worthwhile somehow got its start in Iowa and usually at ISU. But we believe that ISU might do more to promote these famous connections inasmuch as we are unaware of any ecology text that even mentions Ellen H. Richards.

In fact, they usually attribute the beginnings of ecology and the invention of the term as originating in 1866 or 1870 with the German zoologist, Ernst Haeckel. And, while the first societies devoted to the study of ecology appeared at the beginning of the current century, the recorded first usage of the term was supposedly by none other than Henry David Thoreau in 1858.

Henry was from New England, but he probably would have been from Iowa if he had known better.

Yet, one misinformed author of an entry-level text on ecology suggests that while Haeckel and Thoreau had made their marks in the field, the founder of the science was the Danish scientist Eugene Warming, who wrote the first book on the subject in 1895.

So, once again, ISU has had another of its first-place crowns stolen by an undeserving non-Cyclone.

While it is bad enough that so many misinformed souls think the ENIAC was the first computer, at least ISU faculty, staff and students know better. But only now do we, the faculty of the Department of Animal Ecology, learn that ISU is the home institution for the founder of our field of study.

What other crown jewels of foundership have been stolen from ISU? We can only await further startling revelations from the ISU Daily.

Brent Danielson

Assistant professor

Animal ecology

James Dinsmore

Professor

Animal ecology