Increase A. Lapham

Lapham worked between 1811 and 1875 across botanist, naturalist, meteorological observer, botanical collector and cartographer and 1 further recorded occupations. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.

• Name — Increase A. Lapham • Born — March 7, 1811 • Birthplace — Palmyra, New York, US • Died — 14 September 1875 • Place of death — Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, US • Fields — Ecology, natural history, biology, geography • Known for — Natural history in Wisconsin • Author Abbrev Bot — Lapham

• Illustration — The bivalve Nuculites laphami (Cleland, 1911) from the Milwaukee Formation, Middle Devonian, Wisconsin • Illustration — Lapham's grave (rightmost) at Forest Home Cemetery Born in Palmyra, New York, his family moved to Pennsylvania, back to New York, to Ohio then to Louisville, Kentucky (1827–1830) then back to Ohio while his father, Seneca Lapham, worked on the canals in various locations. Lapham was of entirely English ancestry, all of which had been in what is now the United States since the early 1600s. His ancestors were among the first English colonists to establish Rhode Island. He displayed a talent for scientific observation early on while working on the canals and their locks, producing drawings that he could sell at the age of thirteen. In July 1836, Lapham moved to Kilbourntown (which soon incorporated into the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin) and worked closely with Byron Kilbourn in his business and development endeavors. The two had worked together previously on the Miami Canal and Lapham considered him a loyal friend and mentor. Before the end of the year, Lapham had published a Catalogue of Plants and Shells, Found in the vicinity of Milwaukee, on the West Side of Lake Michigan, perhaps the first scientific work published west of the Great Lakes. In 1848, Lapham founded the Wisconsin Natural History Association, a predecessor of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters, of which he also was a charter member. Many of his works and early maps were used for various civil projects such as canal and railroad development. In 1844 Lapham published the first substantial book on the geography of the Wisconsin Territory. His first map of Wisconsin was made in 1846. He published many more papers and books through his life, particularly on geology, archaeology and history, and flora and fauna of Wisconsin, including publication by the Smithsonian Institution. In 1850, he discovered the Panther Intaglio Effigy Mound, which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Lapham was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1853, and he was Chief Geologist of the State of Wisconsin from 1873 to 1875. He was elected as a member to the American Philosophical Society in 1874. He died in Oconomowoc on September 14, 1875, and was buried at Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee. Lapham was one of the first people to recognize the cement potential of certain rock strata seen along the banks of the Milwaukee River. Those strata, now known as belonging to the Milwaukee Formation, were later mined for high quality natural hydraulic cement. Milwaukee thus went on to become the country's leading producer of natural hydraulic cement from 1876 to 1910.

Some works of Increase A. Lapham: • Title — Date • |Notice of the Louisville and Shipping sport Canal and of the Geology of the vicinity — 1828 • |A Catalogue of Plants & Shells, Found in the Vicinity of Milwaukee, on the West Side of Lake Michigan — 1836 • |A Geographical and Topographical Description of Wisconsin — 1844 • |Wisconsin: its geography and topography, history, geology, and mineralogy — 1846 • |Fauna and Flora of Wisconsin — 1852 • |The Antiquities of Wisconsin — 1855 • |On the Man-shaped Mounds of Wisconsin — 1859 • |Opening an Ancient Mound Near Madison, Wisconsin — 1860 • |Geological Map of Wisconsin — 1855 • |Report on the Disastrous Effects of the Destruction of Forest Trees — 1867 • |New Geological Map of Wisconsin — 1869 • |Oconomowoc and other Small Lakes of Wisconsin — 1876

Lapham is recorded with the occupation botanist. Lapham is recorded as botanist, naturalist, meteorological observer, botanical collector and cartographer. Lapham is established in IdRef (French universities) under 08601921X. Lapham is established in Library of Congress under n50037711. Lapham is established in FAST under 12851. Lapham may be traced in institutional catalogues.