John G. Franclemont  (1912-2004)

John G. Franclemont, professor emeritus of entomology and a renowned authority on insect identification, died May 26 in Batavia, N.Y., after a long battle with bone cancer. He was 92. Franclemont focused his research on the moths of North America, with particular interest in cutworms. His personal collection of insects contained more than 350,000 specimens. As an educator, Franclemont strongly believed that college professors should be available to answer students' questions. He often returned to campus after dinner to help students in the evening labs, affording them the same opportunities as those students in his daytime labs. Franclemont was born April 15, 1912, in Buffalo. He graduated from Hutchinson-Central High School, Buffalo, in 1931 and from Cornell with a bachelor's degree (1935) and doctorate (1953). After the United States entered World War II, Franclemont enlisted in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in 1942, graduated from Officer Candidate School and became a commissioned officer. He left the Army as a major in 1946. During World War II, Franclemont served as a mosquito eradication specialist in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific and in the Philippines. He conducted entomological work on Guadalcanal, Bougainville, New Georgia and at Baguio in the Philippines. Franclemont was an entomologist in the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., from 1947 to 1952. He joined the Cornell faculty as an assistant professor on Feb. 1, 1953. He was promoted to associate professor three months later. He became a full professor in 1959 and a professor emeritus in 1977. In addition to his interests in insects, plants, birds and mammals, he enjoyed history, music and literature. He was an avid iris and dog lover. Although he lived most of his adult life in Ithaca, he loved the Southwest and the Far East. He was a past president of the Lepidopterists' Society, as well as a member of at least 18 other entomological societies around the world. He was also a member of Phi Kappa Phi honor society and Sigma Xi scientific research society. Franclemont was predeceased by his younger brother, Richard. He is survived by three nephews and one niece; 10 grandnephews and -nieces; two great-grandnieces; and one great-grandnephew. Cornell Chronicle, June 17, 2004

Affiliation	Cornell University (Professor, PhD 1953, BS 1935)
Label Abbreviation	J.G. Franclemont
Other Names	J.G. Franclemont

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