Charles S. (Charles Sumner) Boyer

Charles Sumner Boyer was an American botanist and diatomist whose work focused on the study of diatoms, the tiny algae with intricately patterned silica walls. Records from the Academy of Natural Sciences describe him as a Philadelphia diatomist, active in the Leidy Microscopical Society and elected to the Academy in February 1892.

Alongside his scientific work, he was involved in Philadelphia's school system and served as a principal in the early years of the twentieth century. Archival descriptions also note that his extensive diatom collection and card catalog were donated to the Academy, showing how closely his research was tied to Philadelphia scientific life.

His publications span the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including New Species of Diatoms (1898), The Diatomaceæ of Philadelphia and Vicinity (1916), and a later work on Canadian fossil diatoms. A later scholarly summary of his career describes him as a prominent U.S. diatomist and credits him with a substantial body of taxonomic work.