Frank Chapman
Encyclopedia
Frank Michler Chapman was a U.S.
ornithologist and pioneering writer of field guide
s.
Chapman was born in West Englewood
, New Jersey
and attended Englewood Academy. He joined the staff of the American Museum of Natural History
in 1888 as assistant to Joel Asaph Allen
. In 1901 he was made associate Curator of Mammals and Birds and in 1908 Curator of Birds.
Chapman came up with the original idea for the Christmas Bird Count
. He also wrote many ornithological books such as, Bird Life, Birds of Eastern North America, Bird Studies With a Camera, and Life in an Air Castle. For his work, Distribution of Bird-life in Colombia, he was awarded the Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal
from the National Academy of Sciences
in 1917.
Chapman fathered one child, Frank Chapman, Jr., who first married playwright
Elizabeth Cobb and had a daughter, actress and TV personality Buff Cobb
, and after divorcing married mezzo-soprano
opera singer Gladys Swarthout
.
Chapman was interred at Brookside Cemetery
in Englewood, New Jersey
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ornithologist and pioneering writer of field guide
Field guide
A field guide is a book designed to help the reader identify wildlife or other objects of natural occurrence . It is generally designed to be brought into the 'field' or local area where such objects exist to help distinguish between similar objects...
s.
Chapman was born in West Englewood
Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, and a suburb in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 39,776, making it the second-most populous among the 70 municipalities in Bergen County....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and attended Englewood Academy. He joined the staff 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 1888 as assistant to Joel Asaph Allen
Joel Asaph Allen
Joel Asaph Allen was an American zoologist and ornithologist, born in Springfield, Massachusetts.He studied at Harvard University under Louis Agassiz...
. In 1901 he was made associate Curator of Mammals and Birds and in 1908 Curator of Birds.
Chapman came up with the original idea for the Christmas Bird Count
Christmas Bird Count
The Christmas Bird Count is a census of birds in the Western Hemisphere, performed annually in the early Northern-hemisphere winter by volunteer birders...
. He also wrote many ornithological books such as, Bird Life, Birds of Eastern North America, Bird Studies With a Camera, and Life in an Air Castle. For his work, Distribution of Bird-life in Colombia, he was awarded the Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal
Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal
The Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for meritorious work in zoology or paleontology published in a three- to five-year period." Named after Daniel Giraud Elliot, it was first awarded in 1917....
from the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
in 1917.
Chapman fathered one child, Frank Chapman, Jr., who first married playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
Elizabeth Cobb and had a daughter, actress and TV personality Buff Cobb
Buff Cobb
Buff Cobb was an American actress and, with then-husband Mike Wallace, host of one of television's first talk shows.-Early life and career:...
, and after divorcing married mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
opera singer Gladys Swarthout
Gladys Swarthout
Gladys Swarthout was an American mezzo-soprano opera singer.-Career:...
.
Chapman was interred at Brookside Cemetery
Brookside Cemetery, Englewood
-History:It was started in May 1876, by a group of Englewood residents who purchased of land for a cemetery. The property sits on the East side of Engle Street adjacent to Tenafly, New Jersey. The cemetery was named for the brook running beside its eastern boundary. A chapel built with the local...
in Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147.Englewood was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of...
.
External links
- Obituary
- Chapman, Frank Michler (United States 1864-1945), Western Kentucky UniversityWestern Kentucky UniversityWestern Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. It was formally founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier....