The Rockefeller Beetles

  • Rockefeller Beetles collection
  • Beetles, Photo by Stephanie Mitchell Harvard Gazette

Over a span of 90 years, banker and philanthropist David Rockefeller collected beetles from around the world, eventually building a personal collection of more than 150,000 specimens. In 2017, his longstanding support for the entomology department of the Harvard University Museum of Comparative Zoology culminated in a gift to the museum of this extraordinary collection. Join the Harvard Museum of Natural History in celebrating this invaluable gift. The small exhibit features hundreds of specimens from Rockefeller’s collection and recounts the story of a man whose childhood pursuit grew into a lifelong passion. Exhibit is on display in Arthropods: Creatures That Rule.