Harry L. Parker  (1893-1979)

HARRY LAMONT PARKER (1893-1979) On July 31, 1979, HARRY LAMONT PARKER died at the age of 86 at the Anglo-American Hospital in Cannes, France, where he had been hospitalized earlier in the year following an apparent stroke. The loss of Dr. PARKER deprived Biological Control of one of its elder statesmen in the field of international cooperation. He was born in 1893 in South Carolina, U.S. His early entomological training was at Clemson Agricultural College (now Clemson University) in South Carolina. He received his diploma in 1914 and was immediately employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. With the entry of the U.S. in World War I HARRY PARKER was sent to France with American Expeditionary Forces. He returned to the U.S. in 1919 but 3 years later he seized upon an opportunity to return to France as an assistant to W. R. THOMPSON at the newly established U.S. Department of Agriculture European Parasite Laboratory, then located at Bayore in southern France. By 1923 he had met and married a young French girl, HENRIETTE CHARRAIRE. In 1924 he was awarded a Doctorate de l'Universite de Paris. Dr. THOMPSON left the European Parasite Laboratory in 1928 and HARRY PARKER was placed in charge, a position he held until his retirement in 1960. During the years of World War II the PARKERS were transferred to Montevideo, Uruguay and he established the South American Parasite Laboratory. In 1946 they returned to France and he reopened the EPL in the vicinity of Paris. Throughout his career Dr. PARKER was recognized as an authority in Biological Control. He was awarded the Prix Basset by the Societe Entomologique de France in 1924 for his studies with chalcidoid larvae. In 1958 he was honored by his French colleagues by being elected to the Academie d'Agriculture de France, an honor rarely accorded to a foreigner, and one he shared with L. O. HOWARD, F. SILVESTRI and C. L. MARLATT. In 1959 the U.S.D.A. presented him with its Superior Service Award for his classic studies in biological control. HARRY PARKER was a member of the Entomological Society of Washington, the Societe Entomologique de France and an Honorary member of the Entomological Society of America. Even more important, Dr. PARKER was an eminent member of the international community of entomologists devoted to the study of Biological Control. The excellent relationship that exists today between the U.S.D.A. biological control laboratories in Europe and in the United States and scientists of similar organizations in Europe, and especially in France, is due to the cooperation and good will generated by HARRY PARKER during his many years as Director of the European Parasite Laboratory. With his passing we have lost an excellent scientist, a devoted colleague, and, especially, a friend. JOHN J. DREA Jr. BioControl 25(1): 5-6, 2006

Affiliation	European Parasite Laboratory (1928-1960 ret.), University of Paris (PhD 1924)
Label Abbreviation	H.L. Parker
Other Names	H.L. Parker

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