William D. Peck while a student at Harvard. Harris lectured on various topics related to his work as a naturalist while he was Harvard librarian, and originated the Harvard Natural History Society for the students. In 1837 he was appointed one of the commissioners for a zoological and botanical survey of Massachusetts, the result of which was his Systematic Catalogue of the Insects of Massachusetts in which 2,350 species are enumerated. He sought a permanent appointment to the faculty in 1842, but the position was given to Asa Gray instead. He was one of the founders of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1827. Notes Bibliography External links Papers of Thaddeus William Harris, 1818?-1852 (Harvard University Library) 1795 births 1856 deaths 19th-century American physicians American entomologists American botanists Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Harvard Medical School alumni Harvard University librarians People from Dorchester, Massachusetts