Dr. Smith was responsible for tracking and predicting cicadas in the 19th century and was able to predict the cycles of 13- and 17-year cicadas in 16 U.S. regions.
The Brood X cicadas have earned their share of media coverage this year, and anyone who lives near wooded areas in the Mid-Atlantic has surely become familiar with their daily humming. The cicadas have found their way onto our plates, artwork, and even permanently onto people’s skin as tattoos.
The latest blog post from Historical Collections at UMB’s Health Sciences and Human Services Library (HSHSL) highlights the work of University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) alumnus Gideon B. Smith, MD, to understand the patterns of cicadas.
Smith was born in 1793, and prior to attending UMSOM he was an entrepreneur, inventor, editor, and entomologist. His work in entomology connected him with Dr. Nathaniel Potter and is possibly why he ended up earning a degree in medicine in 1840.
To learn more about Smith, read this this post on HSHSL Updates.