Frederic Augustus Lucas
Encyclopedia
Frederic Augustus Lucas, Sc.D. (1852-1929) was an American
museum director.
.
. Lucas was Curator at the Smithsonian from 1893 to 1904.
From 1904 to 1911, Lucas was Curator in Chief of the museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences.
Lucas was employed as the Director of the American Museum of Natural History
in New York City
from 1911 until 1923, at which time he retired to assume the post of "Honorary Director."
Lucas wrote many papers on the anatomy of bird
s; on fossil
vertebrate
s; and on museum methods; and published treatises on Animals of the Past (1901) and Animals before Man in North America (1902). He was a contributor to the magazine Evolution
, published by L.E. Katterfeld
, at the time of his death.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
museum director.
Early years
Frederic A. Lucas was born March 25, 1852 at Plymouth, MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Career
Lucas trained as a zoologist, came to be recognized by his contemporaries as an authority on ancient animals. He worked as an assistant in Ward's Natural Science Establishment from 1871-1882, before moving to the Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
. Lucas was Curator at the Smithsonian from 1893 to 1904.
From 1904 to 1911, Lucas was Curator in Chief of the museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences.
Lucas was employed as the Director of the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
from 1911 until 1923, at which time he retired to assume the post of "Honorary Director."
Lucas wrote many papers on the anatomy of bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s; on fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
s; and on museum methods; and published treatises on Animals of the Past (1901) and Animals before Man in North America (1902). He was a contributor to the magazine Evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
, published by L.E. Katterfeld
L.E. Katterfeld
Ludwig Erwin Alfred "Dutch" Katterfeld , most commonly known as L.E. Katterfeld, was an American socialist politician, a founding member of the Communist Labor Party of America, a Comintern functionary, and a magazine editor.-Early life:L.E...
, at the time of his death.
Death and legacy
Frederic Lucus died on February 9, 1929, at his home in Flushing, New York at the age of 76. He was buried at Plymouth, Massachusetts.External links
- Frederic Augustus Lucas Papers
- http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v047n02/p0147-p0158.pdf