Ralph Hopping

Biographical Sketch, by Hany Abdoun, Archives Intern

Ralph Hopping was born on April 8, 1868, in New York City. As young boy he collected and studied insects, specifically Coleoptera, (such as beetles and weevils). He came to California in 1891 along with his father George W. Hopping.

Ralph Hopping entered the United States Forest Service in 1905. In 1912 he held the post of Forest Entomologist, with headquarters in San Francisco. In 1919 he was offered the position of Entomologist in charge of the Vernon Laboratory in British Columbia, Canada. He accepted the post and remained in Vernon until his retirement as a Senior Agricultural Scientist in 1939.

Hopping was a member of many scientific organizations, including the California Academy of Sciences (beginning in 1913) and the Pacific Coast Entomological Society.

Ralph Hopping died on October 29, 1941. In 1948 Hopping's wife, Eltha Edwards, donated his beetle collection to the Entomology Department of the California Academy of Sciences.

Sources Consulted:

Pan Pacific Entomologist, January 1942

Index Cards for the California Academy of Sciences Staff and Members