Abstract: I discuss the life and work of Charles H. Turner, a rare visible African American scientist in his time. Turner was born in Cincinnati and earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at the University of Cincinnati. He then accepted a teaching job before completing his PhD at the University of Chicago in 1907. From 1908 until his death, Turner taught at the Sumner High SChool in St. Louis. Turner published at least 70 papers, of which approximately 25 dealt with animal behavior, mainly with arthropods. A central theme was that arthropod behavior is more complex than had been thought. Turner integrated field and laboratory research and had a genius for conducting experiments in both locations. His research included studies of hearing in moths and color vision in bees, the removal of dead flies from the web by gallery spiders, the learning of nest location during outbound flights in some Hymenoptera, the interaction of genetic and learned influences in web building by gallery spiders, and learning in ants. Turner's prose is often charming and his work remains relevant to many problems in animal behavior.