Martha was the last known living

Endling

An endling is the name given to an individual animal that is the last of its species. Once the endling dies, the species becomes extinct."On 7 September 1936 an endling died in Hobart Zoo...

 passenger pigeon

Passenger Pigeon

The Passenger Pigeon or Wild Pigeon was a bird, now extinct, that existed in North America and lived in enormous migratory flocks until the early 20th century...

; she was named "Martha" in honor of Martha Washington

Martha Washington

Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington is considered to be the first First Lady of the United States...

.

In 1857 an attempt was made to put the passenger pigeons of Ohio under legal protection. The state senate was however of the opinion that the passenger pigeon was not threatened with extinction. Thus the passenger pigeon was hunted until 1914 when Martha was the last living specimen of the species.

Martha was born from an egg held at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1885, and lived among the several other specimens held in the zoo's collection. By 1908, Martha and two males were the only passenger pigeons left after a young Ohio boy shot the last wild passenger pigeon in March 1900, and four captive males in Milwaukee died during the winter. One of the Cincinnati males died in 1909, followed by the remaining male in 1910. Martha herself died at 1 p.m. on September 1, 1914.

After her death at the age of 29 Martha was frozen and sent to the Smithsonian

Smithsonian 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...

, where she was stuffed and exhibited. From the 1920s through the early 1950s she was displayed in the Bird Hall. She was then part of the Birds of the World exhibit from 1956 to 1999. During this time she left the Smithsonian twice—in 1966 to be displayed at the San Diego Zoological Society’s Golden Jubilee Conservation Conference, and in 1974 to the Cincinnati zoo for the dedication of the Passenger Pigeon Memorial. Martha is now no longer on public display at the Smithsonian.