George W. Hunter (circa 1874 - 1948) was born in Mamaroneck, New York and earned his doctorate in from New York University. He was a biology teacher, professor, and textbook author. In the course of his career, Hunter wrote or co-wrote twenty biology textbooks.

Most notably, in 1914 Hunter published "A Civic Biology: Presented in Problems," the textbook that was the center of the notorious Scopes "Monkey" Trial. As part of an ACLU strategy, John Thomas Scopes was put on trial in 1925 for using the text in violation of Tennessee's Butler Act, which forbade the teaching of evolution in any state-funded school. In his book, Hunter expressed acceptance of evolution, but also of eugenics and scientific racism. The text was the state-approved biology text before the Butler act, but after the trial, apparently due to the criticism leveled at it during the proceedings, an updated version of "Civic Biology" was issued in 1927 with the five pages on evolution removed.

After teaching at Knox College and Carleton College, in 1926 Hunter joined Pomona College as a biology teacher, giving one class per semester. He also lectured at Claremont Graduate University, and lived in Claremont until his death in 1948.

Sources

Blackstock, Joe (5 October 2009). "Book at center of Scopes 'Monkey' Trial written by future Claremont professor.” Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Archived from the original on 9 October 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091009030012/http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_13489529 (Accessed 20 February 2018).

Wikipedia contributors, "Civic Biology," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Civic_Biology&oldid=797744060 (accessed February 21, 2018).

Wikipedia contributors, "George William Hunter," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_William_Hunter&oldid=805270757 (accessed February 21, 2018).