John Le Conte

John Le Conte (December 4, 1818 – April 29, 1891 in Berkeley, California) was an American scientist and academic. Le Conte was born in Liberty County, Georgia to Louis Le Conte, patriarch of the noted Le Conte family. He attended Franklin College at the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Literary Society and graduated in 1838. His younger brother Joseph Le Conte also attended the University. Like many of... more

John Le Conte (December 4, 1818 – April 29, 1891 in Berkeley, California) was an American scientist and academic. Le Conte was born in Liberty County, Georgia to Louis Le Conte, patriarch of the noted Le Conte family. He attended Franklin College at the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Literary Society and graduated in 1838. His younger brother Joseph Le Conte also attended the University. Like many of his immediate relatives, John Le Conte next studied medicine at the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons and earned his M.D. in 1842. During this time, Le Conte married Catherine Graham. He practiced medicine until 1846 when he returned to UGA as professor of physics and chemistry and taught there until his resignation in 1855. His next academic position was at the University of South Carolina in Columbia as professor of physics and chemistry from 1856 until 1869. In March 1869, he moved to Oakland, California to join the faculty of... less