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Marston Bates

1906 – 1974

American entomologist

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About Marston Bates

Lived 1906 – 1974 (aged 67). Marston Bates was an American zoologist, entomologist and biologist, known for Mosquito and Yellow fever.

Marston Bates (July 23, 1906 – April 3, 1974) was an American zoologist and environmental author. Bates' studies on mosquitoes contributed to the understanding of the epidemiology of yellow fever in northern South America.

Biography Born in Michigan, Bates received a BS in biology from the University of Florida in 1927. From 1928 to 1931, he worked as an entomologist for the United Fruit Company in Central America. He received a PhD in zoology in 1934 from Harvard University. He worked for the Rockefeller Foundation from 1935 to 1952, studying mosquito ecology, malaria, yellow fever, and human population. He lived for many years in Villavicencio between the mountains and the llanos in central Colombia. He served as special assistant to the president of the Rockefeller Foundation, 1950–1952. and an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1958. He was the author of many popular science books. He was married to Nancy Bell Fairchild, daughter of the botanist David Fairchild and granddaughter of Alexander Graham Bell.

In 1960, he published the ecological science book The Forest and the Sea, an introduction to how ecosystems work. He compares a rain forest and a tropical sea, their similarities and differences, and through it demonstrates how to understand biological systems.

Books Insectos Nocivos: Estudio de Las Principales Plagas Guatemaltecas (1932) Ciudad de Guatemala: Anuario del Servicio técnico de cooperación agrícola. “The Butterflies of Cuba.” (1935) Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 78 (2): 65–258. The Natural History of Mosquitoes (1949) MacMillan; New York The Nature of Natural History (1950) Charles Scribner's Sons; New York; 309 pp. Where Winter Never Comes: A Study of Man and Nature in the Tropics (1952) Charles Scribner's Sons; New York The Prevalence of People (1955) Charles Scribner's Sons; New York. Thomas Jr., William L., Carl O. Sauer, Marston Bates, and Lewis Mumford, eds. Man’s Role in Changing the Face of the Earth (1956) University of Chicago Press. Bates, Marston, and Philip S. Humphrey. Darwin Reader (1956) Scribner. Bates, Marston, and Donald Putnam Abbott. Coral Island: Portrait of an Atoll (1958) Scribner. Bates, Marston, and Donald Putnam Abbott. Ifaluk: Portrait of a Coral Island (1959) Museum Press. The Forest and the Sea: A Look at the Economy of Nature and the Ecology of Man. (1960) Random House (1988) Lyons Man in Nature (1961) Prentice-Hall. Bates, Marston, C. Haven Kolb, and the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, American Institute of Biological Sciences. High School Biology: BSCS Green Version (1963) Rand McNally & Company. Animal Worlds (1963) Random House. The Land and Wildlife of South America (1964) part of the Life Nature Library series Gluttons and Libertines: Human Problems of Being Natural (1968) Random House A Jungle in the House: Essays in Natural and Unnatural History (1970) Walker and Company

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Known for
Mosquito, Yellow fever
Education
Harvard University, University of Florida
Employers
University of Michigan
Awards
Charles P. Daly Medal; Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Also known as
Drell Marston Bates, D. Marston Bates

People in Marston Bates's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Marston Bates's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Marston Bates?

American entomologist (1906-1974)

When was Marston Bates born?

Marston Bates was born on 23 July 1906 in Michigan.

When did Marston Bates die?

Marston Bates died on 3 April 1974.

What was Marston Bates's occupation?

Marston Bates was a zoologist, entomologist and biologist.

What was Marston Bates known for?

Marston Bates was known for Mosquito and Yellow fever.

What nationality was Marston Bates?

Marston Bates was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Marston Bates

· Wikidata: Q6773993

· DBpedia: Marston Bates

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Marston Bates. https://biography.guide/marston-bates/

MLA: "Marston Bates." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/marston-bates/.

Chicago: "Marston Bates." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/marston-bates/.

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