John Barlow (entomologist)
John Barlow (November 27, 1872 – November 26, 1944) was an American entomologist and college administrator who helped build Rhode Island’s entomology collections. He chaired the Zoology Department at the Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts for about 35 years and served twice as interim president (1930–31 and 1940–41).
Born in Amenia, New York, to Henry and Helen Cythera (Benton) Barlow, he studied biology at Middlebury College, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1895 and becoming a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He earned a Master of Arts in biology from Brown University in 1896 and received a Doctor of Science degree from Middlebury College in 1932. After working as an assistant biologist at the Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station (1897–98), he taught biology at Fairmount College in Wichita, Kansas (1898–1901). He returned to Rhode Island in 1902 as Professor of Zoology and chair of the Zoology Department, building up the college’s insect collections and earning the nickname “Buggy Barlow.”
In 1930 he became Vice-President and Dean of Men, and in 1931 added the title of Dean of the School of Science and Business. He retired on his seventieth birthday in 1942 and died in 1944 in Brookline, Massachusetts. He was married to Caroline Miller Barlow, and their son, John Peleg Barlow, became a noted oceanographer. Barlow Hall at the University of Rhode Island is named in his honor.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 18:12 (CET).