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Spencer Fullerton Baird

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	Topics Spencer Fullerton Baird Topic Home Spencer Fullerton Baird was an AmericanUnited States The United States of America, also known as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., and America, is... ornithologistOrnithology Ornithology is the branch of zoology concerned with the scientific study of birds.... and ichthyologist. Biography Baird was born in Reading, PennsylvaniaReading, Pennsylvania Reading is the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania.... . He graduated at Dickinson CollegeDickinson College ame=Dickinson College\|motto= Pietate et doctrina tuta libertas '\|... , Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1840, and next year, made an ornithological excursion through the mountains of PennsylvaniaPennsylvania The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a state in the northeastern part of the United States.... , walking, says one of his biographers, 400 miles in 21 days, and the last day, 60 miles. In 1838, he met John James AudubonJohn James Audubon John James Audubon was a Franco-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter.... , and from then on, his studies were largely ornithological, Audubon giving him a part of his own collection of birds. After studying medicine for a time, Baird became professor of natural history at Dickinson CollegeDickinson College ame=Dickinson College\|motto= Pietate et doctrina tuta libertas '\|... in 1845, assuming also the duties of the chair of chemistry, and giving instruction in physiology and mathematics. This variety of duties in a small college tended to give him that breadth of scientific interest which characterized him through life, and made him perhaps the most representative general man of science in America. For the long period between 1850 and 1878, he was assistant-secretary of the Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded... , in Washington, D.C., where he encouraged the work of the young naturalists in the Megatherium ClubFacts About Megatherium Club The Megatherium Club was a group of Washington, D.C.-based scientists who were attracted to that city by the Smithsonian Ins... . On the death of Joseph HenryJoseph Henry Joseph Henry was a Scottish-American scientist.... he became secretary. From 1871 until his death, he was also U.S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. While an officer of the Smithsonian, Baird's duties included the superintendence of the labour of workers in widely different lines. Thus, apart from his assistance to others, his own studies and published writings cover a broad range: iconographyIconography *Iconography* usually refers to the design or creation of images and more specifically to the historical study of art whic... , geologyGeology Geology anetary geology]] refers to the application of geologic principles to other bodies of the solar system.... , mineralogyMineralogy Mineralogy is an earth science focused around the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals.... , botanyBotany Botany is the scientific study of plantlife.... , anthropologyAnthropology Anthropology consists of the study of humanity .... , general zoologyZoology Zoology is the biological discipline which involves the study of animals.... , and, in particular, ornithology; while for a series of years he edited an annual volume summarizing progress in all scientific lines of investigation. He gave general superintendence, between 1850 and 1860, to several government expeditions (including the Pacific Railroad SurveysPacific Railroad Surveys The Pacific Railroad Surveys explored possible routes for a transcontinental railroad across North America.... ) for scientific exploration of the western territories of the United States, preparing for them a manual of Instructions to Collectors. Of his own publications, the bibliography by George Brown GoodeGeorge Brown Goode George Brown Goode, was an ichthyologist, although most of his time was spent as a museum administrator and he was very inte... , from 1843 to the close of 1882, includes 1063 entries, of which 775 were short articles in his Annual Record. His most important volumes, on the whole, were Catalog of North American ReptileReptile Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane.... s, Birds, in the series of reports of explorations and surveysPacific Railroad Surveys Summary The Pacific Railroad Surveys explored possible routes for a transcontinental railroad across North America.... for a railway route from the Mississippi riverMississippi River The Mississippi River, derived from the old Ojibwe word misi-ziibi meaning 'great river' , is the longest river in the U... to the Pacific oceanPacific Ocean Overview The Pacific Ocean is the world's largest body of water. ... (1858), of which Dr Elliott CouesElliott Coues Elliott Coues was an American army surgeon, historian, ornithologist and author.... says that it exerted an influence perhaps stronger and more widely felt than that of any of its predecessors, Audubon's and WilsonAlexander Wilson Alexander Wilson was a Scottish-born American poet, ornithologist, naturalist and illustrator.... 's not excepted, and marked an epoch in the history of American ornithologyOrnithology Ornithology is the branch of zoology concerned with the scientific study of birds.... ; Mammals of North America: Descriptions based on Collections in the Smithsonian Institution (Philadelphia, 1859); and the monumental work (with Thomas Mayo Brewer and Robert RidgwayRobert Ridgway Robert Ridgway was an American ornithologist.... ) History of North American Birds (Boston, 1875-1884; Land Birds, 3 vols., Water Birds, 2 vols). He died in Woods Hole, MassachusettsWoods Hole, Massachusetts Woods Hole is a census-designated place and village within the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, at the ... , site of the great marine laboratory which as an institution which was largely the result of his own efforts, and which has exercised a wide effect upon both scientific and economic ichthyology. Eponymy Natural world The genus Bairdiella of drumfishesSciaenidae Sciaenidae is a family of fish commonly called drums, croakers, or hardheads for the repetitive throbbing ... was named after him by Theodore GillTheodore Gill Theodore Nicholas Gill was an American ichthyologist.... in 1861. Baird's smooth-head, Alepocephalus bairdii GoodeGeorge Brown Goode George Brown Goode, was an ichthyologist, although most of his time was spent as a museum administrator and he was very inte... & BeanTarleton Hoffman Bean Tarleton Hoffman Bean was an American ichthyologist, born at Bainbridge, Pennsylvania.... , 1879. Baird's SparrowBaird's Sparrow The Baird's Sparrow, Ammodramus bairdii, is a small sparrow.... , Ammodramus bairdii (AudubonJohn James Audubon Overview John James Audubon was a Franco-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter.... , 1844). Baird's Beaked Whale, Berardius bairdii StejnegerLeonhard Hess Stejneger ... , 1883. Baird's SandpiperBaird's Sandpiper Overview The Baird's Sandpiper, Calidris bairdii is a small shorebird.... , Calidris bairdii CouesFacts About Elliott Coues Elliott Coues was an American army surgeon, historian, ornithologist and author.... , 1861. Mottled sculpinMottled sculpin The mottled sculpin Cottus bairdii is a sculpin found widely although unevenly throughout North America.... , Cottus bairdii GirardCharles Frédéric Girard Charles Frdric Girard was a French biologist specializing on ichthyology and herpetology.... , 1850. Eunephrops bairdiiEunephrops bairdii *Eunephrops bairdii* is a species of marine lobster endemic to the Caribbean Sea.... S. I. SmithSidney Irving Smith Sidney Irving Smith was an American zoologist.... , 1885. Bumphead damselfish, Microspathodon bairdii (GillTheodore Gill Theodore Nicholas Gill was an American ichthyologist.... , 1862). Marlin-spike grenadier, Nezumia bairdii (GoodeGeorge Brown Goode Overview George Brown Goode, was an ichthyologist, although most of his time was spent as a museum administrator and he was very inte... & BeanTarleton Hoffman Bean Tarleton Hoffman Bean was an American ichthyologist, born at Bainbridge, Pennsylvania.... , 1877). Baird's TrogonBaird's Trogon Summary The Baird's Trogon is a species of bird in the Trogonidae family.... , Trogon bairdii Lawrence, 1868. Tanner CrabChionoecetes *Chionoecetes* is a genus of crabs that live in the cold waters of the northern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans .... , Chionoecetes bairdi RathbunMary Rathbun Dr. Mary Jane Rathbun was an American marine biologist.... , 1924 Pantherophis bairdiFacts About Pantherophis bairdi The Baird's Rat Snake is a species of non-venomous rat snake, native to the United States in the Big Bend region of western... Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii Sea vessel M.V. Spencer F. Baird, Ocean-suveying ship See also Pacific Railroad SurveysPacific Railroad Surveys The Pacific Railroad Surveys explored possible routes for a transcontinental railroad across North America.... United States and Mexican Boundary SurveyUnited States and Mexican Boundary Survey The United States and Mexican Boundary Survey set the boundary between the United States and Mexico according to the Treaty ... Further reading Dean C. AllardFacts About Dean C. Allard Dr. Dean Conrad Allard, Jr. , is a naval historian and archivist, who served as Director of Naval History and Director of th... , Spencer Fullerton Baird and the U.S. Fish Commission. New York: Arno Press, 1978. External links --Spencer Baird and Ichthylogy at the Smithsonian