[2] Turner was one of the first scientists to systematically examine the question of whether animals display complex cognition, studying arthropods such as spiders and bees.

[1] Lillian survived her husband, who died in Chicago at his son Darwin's home on February 14, 1923, from acute myocarditis.

[7] Turner's mentor, early comparative psychologist and biologist, Clarence L. Herrick, helped him earn his bachelor's degree.

[8] A summary of his undergraduate thesis on the neuroanatomy of bird brains was published in the journal Science in 1891, making him the first African American to be so recognized.

[8] He then resigned the position in order to pursue a professorship in biology and chemistry at Haines Normal and Industrial Institute in Augusta, Georgia in 1907.

[1] In 1908, Turner gained a teaching position at Sumner High School, where he remained until his retirement in 1922 due to ill health.

[1][15] It is somewhat contested whether Turner chose to teach in high school or if he was unable to find a permanent position in academia.

Turner's work was different from the majority of scientists of his time as he clearly adopted a cognitive perspective to analyze animal behavior.

[3] He used concepts such as learning, memory and expectation, in a time when most scientists believed that animals such as insects were exclusively driven by reflexive taxis, innate reactions to external stimuli.

[17]: 79-80  He was also the first to suggest invertebrates had 'outcome awareness' after observing an isolated ant attempting to build a bridge back to safe ground from a range of materials.

[17]: 133-134 Turner conducted a large majority of his bee research at O'Fallon Park in North St. Louis, Missouri.

[7] Selected publications include: Besides his scientific work, Turner was active in the struggle to obtain social and educational services for African Americans in St. Louis, Missouri.