zoologist, professor, university president, b. Troy, N.Y. He graduated from Williams College (B.A., 1873; M.A., 1876) and Harvard Univ. (Ph.D., 1878). A student of the pre-eminent natural historian, Louis Agassiz, Birge came to the Univ. of Wisconsin in 1875 as instructor in natural history, a position which he held until 1879. He was professor of zoology (1879-1911), and studied physiology at the Univ. of Leipzig, Germany (1880-1881). He was dean of the Univ. of Wisconsin College of Letters and Science (1891--1918), acting president of the university (1900--1903), and president (1918- 1925). During his early years at the university, Birge was instrumental in promoting specialized fields in the biological sciences; from a single department of biology with one professor in 1879, four specialized departments had developed by 1900. Among the accomplishments of the department of zoology under Birge's leadership were the introduction of individual lab study for students, the establishment of pre- medical courses, and the introduction of zoological research programs and techniques. One of the most important developments grew out of Birge's own research on aquatic invertebrates. This led to the discovery of the thermal stratification of Lake Mendota, and eventually to a new science of lake study, limnology, in which Wisconsin, under the leadership of Birge and Chauncey Juday (q.v.), became one of the foremost research centers in the world. Birge was for many years a state commissioner of fisheries, director of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey (1897-1915), and an active member of the state conservation commission (1908-1915) and the state forestry commission (1905-1915). After 1900 his increasing administrative duties forced him to devote less time to individual research and zoology. From 1900 to 1903 he was acting president of the university during the absence of Charles K. Adams (q.v.). After the death of university president Charles R. Van Hise (q.v.) in 1918, Birge was chosen as his successor, serving in this capacity until his retirement in 1925. Although sometimes criticized for not meeting the changing conditions and political turmoil of the post World War I era, Birge's administration was characterized by tact and conservatism, which, coupled with the personal esteem in which Birge was held by his colleagues, helped to see the university through a difficult period of transition. Birge generally avoided public controversies if possible, but a notable exception occurred in 1921 when he was drawn into an argument with William Jennings Bryan on Darwinism and Fundamentalism. Picked up by the press and capitalized on by Bryan, the squabble brought considerable notoriety to Birge and the university, especially outside the state, but after it became apparent that Birge's position as university president was secure, the controversy subsided. Shortly before his retirement, Birge saw the completion of the Wisconsin General Hospital; this addition to the university plant made possible a four-year medical course, the first students enrolling in 1924. In 1925 Birge retired and was made president emeritus. He remained active in many civic and scientific organizations and continued his lake research until a few months before his death. M. Curti and V. Carstensen, Univ. of Wis. (2 vols., Madison, 1949); Wis. Mag. Hist., 35; Madison Wis. State Journal, June 10, 1950; E. A. Birge Papers.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]