This collection consists of papers documenting Richmond's career and includes correspondence with colleagues concerning his research on water beetles; correspondence
and photographs relating to his Army work on Horn Island, Mississippi, and subsequent research on the natural history of the island; and rearing notes and other research materials
on water beetles, especially the family Hydrophilidae.
Historical Note:
Edward Avery Richmond (1887-1970) was an entomologist specializing in the taxonomy and biology of water beetles. He received his Ph.D. from Massachusetts State College
in 1930. Richmond held a variety of research and teaching posts between 1913 and 1957. Included were two positions with the United States Department of Agriculture. He was
an entomologist with the Japanese Beetle Laboratory from 1924 to 1929 and a foreign plant quarantine inspector from 1945 to 1957. During 1944-1945, Richmond was stationed
on Horn Island, off the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, as a health officer with the United States Army. He continued to conduct studies of the flora and fauna of Horn Island as
a Research Associate of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory from 1959 until his death. Richmond's collection of Coleoptera was donated to the National Museum of Natural History
in 1972.
