biology

Lemuel Shattuck

Lemuel Shattuck is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Lemuel Shattuck rather than just read about it. In short: Lemuel Shattuck (15 October 1793, in Ashby, Massachusetts – 17 January 1859, in Boston, Massachusetts) was an American educator, politician, historian, bookseller, and publisher. He is best known for promoting statistical studies of populations, including setting up a system in Massachusetts that became a model, and planning the interview schedules for the federal Census of 1850.

Key takeaways

Lemuel Shattuck belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Lemuel Shattuck to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Lemuel Shattuck from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Lemuel Shattuck (15 October 1793, in Ashby, Massachusetts – 17 January 1859, in Boston, Massachusetts) was an American educator, politician, historian, bookseller, and publisher. He is best known for promoting statistical studies of populations, including setting up a system in Massachusetts that became a model, and planning the interview schedules for the federal Census of 1850.

Biography Shattuck taught at Troy and Albany, and from 1818 to 1821, he was at the frontier outpost of Detroit, where he taught at a Lancasterian school affiliated with the Catholepistemiad, which later became known as the University of Michigan. Shattuck became a merchant as a bookseller and publisher in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1823 and was elected as a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1831. He was a member of the Boston Common Council and served for several years as a representative in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. In 1844, he co-founded the New England Historic Genealogical Society, serving as its vice president for five years. He was also a member of various similar societies. At the age of 46, Shattuck retired from business to devote himself to his other interests. His research for his 1835 book on Concord history pointed up to him the neglect of vital records. This was one of his motivations for joining others to found the American Statistical Association in 1839. He also promoted legislation that required a better system for the registration of vital information. This law was passed in 1842. His work on a Boston census in 1845 resulted in him being summoned as a consultant for the 1850 United States census. He helped convince Congress to fund a much more complex census, and he designed most of the interview form used by door-to-door canvassers. His Report on the Sanitary Condition of Massachusetts in 1850 on a sanitary survey of Massachusetts was as amazingly farsighted. It explained how to remove the giant mounds of dirt and dung that were accumulating in fast growing cities, and inspired reforms in many states. In 1825, he married Clarissa Baxter, and he was survived by three children.

Recognition

Lemuel Shattuck is remembered at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine where his name appears on the school's frieze. The names of 23 pioneers of public health and tropical medicine were chosen to be honored when the School was built in 1929. Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Boston is named after him. Shattuck Street in Boston, the street on which Harvard Medical School sits, is also named after Lemuel Shattuck.

Works History of Concord, Mass. (Boston, 1835) Vital Statistics of Boston (1841) The Census of Boston (1845) Report on the Sanitary Condition of Massachusetts (1850) Memorials of the Descendants of William Shattuck (1855)

References

Citations

Sources

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lemuel Shattuck

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lemuel Shattuck claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lemuel Shattuck before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lemuel Shattuck ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lemuel Shattuck

In research: Lemuel Shattuck appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Lemuel Shattuck in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Lemuel Shattuck is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1793 births, 1859 deaths, 19th-century American businesspeople, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Lemuel Shattuck outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Lemuel Shattuck in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Lemuel Shattuck means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Lemuel Shattuck out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lemuel Shattuck in simple terms?

Why does Lemuel Shattuck matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Lemuel Shattuck?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Lemuel Shattuck.