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Wisconsin’s first scientist

Winchester Academy to host program on Increase Lapham

Bergland and Hayes

Martha Bergland and Paul Hayes will present “Wisconsin’s First Scientist: Increase Allen Lapham” at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 18, at the Waupaca Area Public Library.

Sponsored by Winchester Academy, the program is free and open to the public.

In this illustrated presentation based on their book, “Studying Wisconsin: The Life of Increase Lapham,” authors Bergland and Hayes will explore Lapham’s life (1811-1875) and achievements.

Lapham’s ability to observe, understand, and meticulously catalog the natural world marked his work, from his early days as a surveyor on the Erie Canal to his work as state geologist.

Self-taught, Lapham mastered botany, geology, archeology, limnology, mineralogy, engineering, meteorology and cartography. He identified and preserved thousands of botanical specimens.

He surveyed and mapped Wisconsin’s effigy mounds and was a force behind the creation of the National Weather Service, lobbying for a storm warning system to protect Great Lakes sailors.

Lapham’s 1844 guide to the territory was the first book published in Wisconsin. Asked late in life which field of science was his specialty, he replied simply, “I am studying Wisconsin.”

Bergland, a retired English teacher, spent five years researching Lapham’s biography. She has written many articles and short stories, as well as two novels.

Science reporter at The Milwaukee Journal for 33 years, Hayes often relied on work of Lapham, whose home had been three blocks north of the newspaper office.

Winchester Academy programs are funded through sponsors and tax-deductible donations.

This program is sponsored by Jack and Glenda Rhodes.

For more information about Winchester Academy, follow the group on Facebook or contact Executive Director Ann Buerger Linden at 715-258-2927 or [email protected].

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