Spencer Fullerton Baird

Spencer Fullerton Baird is a ornithologist and a American ichtyologist , born the February 3rd 1823 with Reading in Pennsylvania and dead the August 19th 1887 with Woods Hole in the Massachusetts.

Biography

Its family is originating in Scotland which emigrates in America at the 17th century. His/her father is Samuel Baird, a lawyer, and his mother, Lydia Biddle Baird. After the death of the father, the family settles with Carlisle (Pennsylvania). Starting from 1837, it makes its studies with the Dickinson College of Carlisle and organizes, the following year, an ornithological forwarding in the mountains of Pennsylvania. In 1838, it meets John James Audubon which, to help it in its ornithological studies, gives him part of its own collection of Oiseau X.

After having been graduate in 1840 with Carlisle of a Bachelor off Arts , it studies the Médecine with New York until in 1842 but, prefers to turn over to Carlisle. It obtains its Master off Arts in 1843. It binds friendship with George Newbold Lawrence (1806-1895) in 1841, with John Cassin (1813-1869) in 1843 and Thomas Mayo Brewer (1814-1880) in 1845. Baird becomes professor of Natural history to the Dickinson college in 1845 and obtains, the following year, also the pulpit of Chimie and giving courses of Physiologie and mathematical. Baird Marie with Mary Helen Churcill in 1846, union of which will be born a child.

In 1848, it receives a title of doctor of honorary medicine by the medical school of Philadelphia. Of 1850 with 1878, he is secretary-assistant with the Smithsonian Institution of Washington and, with died of Joseph Henry, he becomes the secretary about it. Starting from 1871 and until its death, it founds then directs the U.S. To commission Fish and Fisheries off. It off receives a honorary Doctorat Sciences by Dickinson College in 1856, a honorary Doctorat off Laws by the university Columbia in 1875 and another honorary Doctorat off Laws by the Université Harvard in 1886.

Its centers of interest are varied and it publishes work on the Iconographie, the Géologie, the Minéralogie, the Botanique, the Anthropologie, the Zoologie, and, in particular, in ornithology.

Between 1850 and 1860, it supervises several governmental scientific exhibitions through the United States and writes an instruction manual for the collectors (people charged to collect specimens of plants, animals or rocks).

He writes more 1 000 articles among which:

Catalog off North American Reptile S (1853, with Charles Frederic Girard);
Birds, in the series off carryforwards off explorations and surveys for has railway road from the Mississippi to rivet to the Pacific ocean (1858) that Elliott Coues qualifies the one of most important ornithological publications ever published marking a considerable stage in the history of American ornithology;
Mammals off North America: Descriptions based one Collections in the Smithsonian Institution (Philadelphia, 1859);
History off North American Birds (Boston, 1875-1884; 3 volumes on the terrestrial birds and 2 volumes on the water birds), cosigné with Thomas Mayo Brewer and Robert Ridgway.

He dies in the Laboratoire of biology marinades (MBL) of Woods Hole in the Massachusetts, an institution which he largely contributed to founded and which had a considerable effect on the Ichtyologie scientific and economic.

The Bécasseau of Baird ( Calidris bairdii ) was dedicated to him by Blasius Merrem (1761-1824), the Bruant of Baird ( Ammodramus bairdii ) is dedicated to him by John James Audubon (1785-1851) in 1844.

Baird is regarded as the most important figure of the zoology of vertebrate of the middle of the 19th century to the the United States of America. In addition to its functions of researchers, he plays a great part in the popularization of science. Many scientists are financed by the institutions which it chairs of which Clinton Hart Merriam (1855-1942), Robert Ridgway (1850-1929), William Healey Dall (1845-1927), George Brown Goode (1851-1896), etc

He signs several publications with his older brother, William MacFunn Baird (1817-1872).

Appendices

Sources

Kraig Adler (1989). Contributions to the History off Herpetology, Society for the study off amphibians and reptiles: 202 p.
Robert Ridgway (1888). Spencer Fullerton Baird , Auk (The) , 5 , 1: 2-14.
Keir B. Sterling, Richard P. Harmond, George A. Cevasco and Lorne F. Hammond (1997). Biographical dictionary off American and Canadian naturalists and environmentalists, Greenwood Close (Westport): xix + 937 p.
Michael Walters (2003). has Concise History Ornithology off. Yale University Close (New Haven, Connecticut): 255 p.

Bibliographical orientation

Dean C. Allard (2000). Spencer Baird and Support for American Marine Science, 1871-1887, Earth History Sciences: Newspaper off the History off the Earth Sciences Society , 19 : 44-57.
Edward C. Casing II (1999). Surveying the record: North American scientific exploration to 1930 , 231 , American Philosophical Society (Philadelphia), collection Memoirs off the American Philosophical Society held At Philadelphia for promoting useful knowledge : xv + 344 p.
William A. Deiss (1980). Spencer F. Baird and his collectors, Newspaper off the society for bibliography off Natural history , 9 : 635-645.
William A. Deiss (1985). The making off has naturalist: Spencer F. Baird, the early years, From Linnaeus to Darwin: Commentaries one the history off biology and geology (Alwyne Wheeler and James H. Price to dir.), Society for the History off Natural History (London): 141-148.
William W. Fitzhugh (1988). Baird' S naturalists: Smithsonian collectors in Alaska, Crossroads off unintermitting: Cultures off Siberia and Alaska (William W. Fitzhugh and Aron Crowell to dir.), Smithsonian Institution Close (Washington): 89-96.
Pamela Mr. Henson (2000). Spencer Baird' S Dream: With U.S. National Museum, Cultures and institutions off natural history: Essays in the history and philosophy off science , California Academy off Sciences (San Francisco): 101-126.
Joel J. Orosz (1986). Disloyalty, dismissal, and have deal: The development off the National Museum At the Smithsonian Institution, 1846-1855, Museum Studies Newspaper , 2 (2): 22-33.
E.F. Rivinus and E.M. Youssef (1992). Spencer Baird off the Smithsonian , Smithsonian Institution Close (Washington): 228 p.

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