Harry Beal Torrey (1873–1970) of California, USA, and his research on hydroids and other coelenterates

Abstract

Harry Beal Torrey was born on 22 May 1873 in Boston, Massachusetts. Two years later his family moved to Oakland,California. Torrey earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in zoology from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1895 and 1898respectively, a Ph.D. in zoology from Columbia University in 1903, and an M.D. from the Medical College of CornellUniversity in 1927. He began his academic career as a marine biologist, investigating taxonomy, reproduction,morphology, development, regeneration, and behaviour of cnidarians of the west coast of the United States, but hisresearch interests soon shifted to experimental biology and endocrinology. He eventually entered the field of medicine,specializing in public health, and served as a physician and hospital administrator. Torrey held academic positions at theUniversity of California, Berkeley (1895-1912), the Marine Biological Association of San Diego (1903-1912), ReedCollege (1912-1920), the University of Oregon (1920-1926), and Stanford University (1928-1938). Following retirementfrom academia, he served as Director of the Children's Hospital of the East Bay, Oakland, California, from 1938 to 1942.In retirement, he continued an association with the University of California at Berkeley, near his home. Of 84 publicationsby him listed herein, 31 dealt with coelenterates. This paper focuses on his early research on coelenterate biology, andespecially his contributions to taxonomy of hydroids. He was author or coauthor of six genera and 48 species-group taxaof Cnidaria, and he also described one new species each of Ctenophora and Phoronida. Although he abandoned systematicwork early in his career, his most widely cited publication is a taxonomic monograph on hydroids of the west coast ofNorth America, published in 1902. He died, at age 97, on 9 September 1970.