This biographical sketch is based on the text of a memorial lecture (edited for this venue) presented by a colleague on March 24, 1997.

[1] The son of a tobacco farmer, Stanley Jennings Carpenter grew up helping his father but soon developed a strong interest in nature.

After graduating in 1926 from Hazel Green Academy, a Christian high school, as the Valedictorian, he decided to go to college to pursue his interest in nature.

Determined to obtain a Ph.D., he gained a fellowship in ichthyology at Ohio State University, but soon changed to graduate work in entomology, in which he did his studies in 1932 and 1933.

With good intentions of returning to complete the degree, he accepted a position on the faculty of Harding College in Searcy, Arkansas.

Late in 1942 he returned to the United States as head of entomology for the 4th Service Command at Fort McPherson, Georgia.

Here he served as the commanding officer of a malaria survey unit in charge of more than 100 mosquito control workers in the Canal Zone.

One of the recruits Colonel Carpenter selected to aid in the survey was an 18-year-old soldier named E L Peyton,[2] who had joined up before finishing his high school degree.

He encouraged him to complete his degree while in Panama; Peyton credits Colonel Carpenter with his entry into a career in systematics.

In 1951, Colonel Carpenter returned to the United States and was sent to the 9th Service Command Medical Laboratory at Fort Baker, California, where he served a 3-year tour of duty.

During his long and distinguished career, Colonel Carpenter authored 80 scientific publications on the systematics, biology, and control of tropical and temperate species of mosquitoes, many of which are of medical importance.