Vol. XXXl] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS II9 



Oliver Spink Westcott. 



Oliver Spink Westcott was born at Wickford, Rhode 

 Island, December 15, 1834 and died at Oak Park, Illinois, 

 July 31, 1919. He graduated at Brown University, Provi- 

 dence, R. I., 1857, and was the last surviving graduate of that 

 year. He also held the degree of Doctor of Science from 

 Brown University. He was a lineal descendant of Stukeley 

 Westcote, who went with Roger Williams from Massachusetts 

 to Rhode Island in 1638. 



While he was an educator first, last and always, still he 

 was a noted scientist, mathematician and student of foreign 

 languages, ancient and modern. He was well known as an 

 entomologist having collected for 51 years. It was his custom 

 to spend his vacations from school in some corner of the coun- 

 try collecting insects for future study. He boasted that he 

 had visited and made a stay in every state of the Union, in 

 Mexico, Cuba, Hawaii, Alaska and the several provinces of 

 Canada before he felt called upon to visit Europe. In fact 

 he went to Europe only once. His insect collection of some 

 45,000 specimens has gone to the State College of Washington, 

 Pullman, Wash. His Entomological Library was sold to 

 John D. Sherman Jr., Mount Vernon, New York. 



A notice of Dr. Westcott, with special reference to his 

 connection with the public schools of Chicago, accompanied 

 by a portrait, was published in The Oak Parker for August 

 9, 1919. From it we learn that that connection lasted for 

 fifty-two years. 



"Thirty-one years as principal of the old North Division High School, 

 now known as the Robert A. Waller. .\t the age of 75, Mr. Westcott sent 

 in his resignation to the school board, but was prevailed upon to reconsider. 

 . . . Five years later, on his eightieth birthday, he withdrew from ac- 

 tive service. At that time Superintendent Ella Flagg Young wrote: 'On 

 your resignation from the principalship of the Waller High School I cannot 

 refrain from writing you something of my appreciation of the power for 

 intelligence and excellence that you have been in Chicago . . .' 



We are indebted to Professor James G. Needham for the 

 clipping from which we have quoted and through him to Mr. 

 Charles Westcott, Dr. Westcott 's son, for the biographical 



