Elon Howard Eaton

He was born in the Town of Collins near Springville, New York, the son of Luzerne Eaton and Sophie Newton.

Eaton was home-schooled and self-taught in rural southern Erie County, although he also attended the Griffith Institute in nearby Springville.

After teaching science in local schools, he attended Columbia University (1899–1900) for additional graduate work, studying paleontology under Henry Fairfield Osborn.

Eaton established the biology department in Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 1908, where he taught until his death.

The publication of this work elicited many letters to Eaton, including one from the then-young Roger Tory Peterson.