Spencer Fullerton Baird
Encyclopedia
Spencer Fullerton Baird (February 3, 1823 – August 19, 1887) was an American
ornithologist
, ichthyologist and herpetologist. Starting in 1850 he was assistant-secretary and later secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. From 1871 until his death, he also led the United States Fish Commission.
, third child of Samuel Baird and Lydia Biddle Baird. Samuel Baird was a lawyer with an interest in natural history, which transmitted to his son although Baird was only 10 when his father died. He graduated from Dickinson College
, Carlisle
, Pennsylvania in 1840, and next year, made an ornithological excursion through the mountains of Pennsylvania
, walking, according to one of his biographers, 400 miles in 21 days, and the last day, 60 miles. In 1838, he met John James Audubon
, 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 College
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. He was elected an Associate Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1848. For the long period between 1850 and 1878, he was assistant-secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
, in Washington, D.C., where he encouraged the work of the young naturalists in the Megatherium Club
. On the death of Joseph Henry
he became secretary. From 1871 until his death, he also led the United States Fish Commission
.
Baird's duties at the Smithsonian 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: iconography
, geology
, mineralogy
, botany
, anthropology
, general zoology
, 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 Surveys
) 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 Goode
, 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 Reptile
s (1853, with Charles Frédéric Girard
), Birds, in the series of reports of explorations and surveys
for a railway route from the Mississippi river
to the Pacific ocean
(1858), of which Dr Elliott Coues
says that it exerted an influence perhaps stronger and more widely felt than that of any of its predecessors, Audubon's and Wilson
's not excepted, and marked an epoch in the history of American ornithology
; Mammals of North America: Descriptions based on Collections in the Smithsonian Institution (Philadelphia, 1859); and the monumental work (with Thomas Mayo Brewer
and Robert Ridgway) History of North American Birds (Boston, 1875–1884; Land Birds, 3 vols., Water Birds, 2 vols).
He died in Woods Hole, Massachusetts
, 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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ornithologist
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
, ichthyologist and herpetologist. Starting in 1850 he was assistant-secretary and later secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. From 1871 until his death, he also led the United States Fish Commission.
Biography
Baird was born in Reading, PennsylvaniaReading, Pennsylvania
Reading is a city in southeastern Pennsylvania, USA, and seat of Berks County. Reading is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area and had a population of 88,082 as of the 2010 census, making it the fifth most populated city in the state after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Erie,...
, third child of Samuel Baird and Lydia Biddle Baird. Samuel Baird was a lawyer with an interest in natural history, which transmitted to his son although Baird was only 10 when his father died. He graduated from Dickinson College
Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...
, Carlisle
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...
, Pennsylvania in 1840, and next year, made an ornithological excursion through the mountains of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, walking, according to one of his biographers, 400 miles in 21 days, and the last day, 60 miles. In 1838, he met John James Audubon
John James Audubon
John James Audubon was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his expansive studies to document all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats...
, 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 College
Dickinson College
Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...
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. He was elected an Associate Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1848. For the long period between 1850 and 1878, he was assistant-secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
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...
, in Washington, D.C., where he encouraged the work of the young naturalists in the Megatherium Club
Megatherium Club
The Megatherium Club was founded by William Stimpson. It was a group of Washington, D.C.-based scientists who were attracted to that city by the Smithsonian Institution's rapidly growing collection, from 1857 to 1866....
. On the death of Joseph Henry
Joseph Henry
Joseph Henry was an American scientist who served as the first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, as well as a founding member of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, a precursor of the Smithsonian Institution. During his lifetime, he was highly regarded...
he became secretary. From 1871 until his death, he also led the United States Fish Commission
United States Fish Commission
The United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries was established on February 9, 1871 , as an independent commission with a mandate to investigate the causes for the decrease of commercial fish and aquatic animals in U.S...
.
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
, geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, mineralogy
Mineralogy
Mineralogy is the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.-History:Early writing...
, botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
, anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, general zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
, 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 Surveys
Pacific Railroad Surveys
The Pacific Railroad Surveys -A series of explorations of the American West to explore possible routes for a transcontinental railroad across North America. The expeditions included surveyors, scientists, and artists and resulted in an immense body of data covering at least on the American West....
) 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 Goode
George Brown Goode
George Brown Goode , was an ichthyologist, although most of his time was spent as a museum administrator and he was very interested in the history of science, especially the history of the development of science in America. Goode graduated from Wesleyan University and studied at Harvard University...
, 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 Reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
s (1853, with Charles Frédéric Girard
Charles Frédéric Girard
Charles Frédéric Girard was a French biologist specializing in ichthyology and herpetology.Born in Mulhouse, France, he studied at the College of Neuchâtel, Switzerland as a student of Louis Agassiz. In 1847, he accompanied Agassiz as his assistant to Harvard...
), Birds, in the series of reports of explorations and surveys
Pacific Railroad Surveys
The Pacific Railroad Surveys -A series of explorations of the American West to explore possible routes for a transcontinental railroad across North America. The expeditions included surveyors, scientists, and artists and resulted in an immense body of data covering at least on the American West....
for a railway route from the Mississippi river
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
to the Pacific ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
(1858), of which Dr Elliott Coues
Elliott Coues
Elliott Coues was an American army surgeon, historian, ornithologist and author.Coues was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He graduated at Columbian University, Washington, D.C., in 1861, and at the Medical school of that institution in 1863...
says that it exerted an influence perhaps stronger and more widely felt than that of any of its predecessors, Audubon's and Wilson
Alexander Wilson
Alexander Wilson was a Scottish-American poet, ornithologist, naturalist, and illustrator.Wilson was born in Paisley, Scotland, the son of an illiterate distiller. In 1779 he was apprenticed as a weaver. His main interest at this time was in writing poetry...
's not excepted, and marked an epoch in the history of American ornithology
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
; Mammals of North America: Descriptions based on Collections in the Smithsonian Institution (Philadelphia, 1859); and the monumental work (with Thomas Mayo Brewer
Thomas Mayo Brewer
Thomas Mayo Brewer was an American naturalist.Mayo is best known as the joint author, with Baird and Ridgway, of A History of North American Birds , which was the first attempt since John James Audubon's to complete the study of American ornithology.Brewer was born in Boston...
and Robert Ridgway) History of North American Birds (Boston, 1875–1884; Land Birds, 3 vols., Water Birds, 2 vols).
He died in Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Woods Hole is a census-designated place in the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies at the extreme southwest corner of Cape Cod, near Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands...
, 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.
Natural world
- The genus Bairdiella of drumfishesSciaenidaeSciaenidae is a family of fish commonly called drums, croakers, or hardheads for the repetitive throbbing or drumming sounds they make...
was named after him by Theodore GillTheodore GillTheodore Nicholas Gill was an American ichthyologist, mammalogist, malacologist and librarian.Born and educated in New York City under private tutors, Gill early showed interest in natural history. He was associated with J...
in 1861. - Baird's smooth-head, Alepocephalus bairdii GoodeGeorge Brown GoodeGeorge Brown Goode , was an ichthyologist, although most of his time was spent as a museum administrator and he was very interested in the history of science, especially the history of the development of science in America. Goode graduated from Wesleyan University and studied at Harvard University...
& BeanTarleton Hoffman BeanTarleton Hoffman Bean was an American ichthyologist, born at Bainbridge, Pennsylvania on 8 October 1846. He died in Albany, New York on 28 December 1916.-FAMILY AND EDUCATION :...
, 1879. - Baird's SparrowBaird's SparrowThe Baird's Sparrow, Ammodramus bairdii, is a small North American sparrow.-Overview:These birds have a large bill, a large flat head, and a short forked tail. They have brown upper parts and white underparts, with streaking on the back, breast, and flanks...
, Ammodramus bairdii (AudubonJohn James AudubonJohn James Audubon was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his expansive studies to document all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats...
, 1844). - Baird's Beaked Whale, Berardius bairdii StejnegerLeonhard Hess StejnegerLeonhard Hess Stejneger was a Norwegian-born American ornithologist, herpetologist and zoologist. Stejneger specialized in vertebrate natural history studies. He gained his greatest reputation with reptiles and amphibians....
, 1883. - Baird's SandpiperBaird's SandpiperThe Baird's Sandpiper is a small shorebird. It is among those calidrids sometimes separated in Erolia.Adults have black legs and a short thin dark bill. They are dark brown on top and mainly white underneath with a black patch on the rump. The head and breast are light brown with dark streaks. In...
, Calidris bairdii CouesElliott CouesElliott Coues was an American army surgeon, historian, ornithologist and author.Coues was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He graduated at Columbian University, Washington, D.C., in 1861, and at the Medical school of that institution in 1863...
, 1861. - Mottled sculpinMottled sculpinThe mottled sculpin, Cottus bairdii, is a freshwater sculpin found widely although unevenly throughout North America.As the name suggests, its coloration is a combination of bars, spots, and speckles randomly distributed. The large pectoral fins are banded...
, Cottus bairdii GirardCharles Frédéric GirardCharles Frédéric Girard was a French biologist specializing in ichthyology and herpetology.Born in Mulhouse, France, he studied at the College of Neuchâtel, Switzerland as a student of Louis Agassiz. In 1847, he accompanied Agassiz as his assistant to Harvard...
, 1850. - Eunephrops bairdiiEunephrops bairdiiEunephrops bairdii is a species of marine lobster, commonly called the "red lobster", endemic to the Caribbean Sea. It is found off the coasts of Colombia and Panama at depths of . It reaches a length of up to , which is equivalent to a carapace length of , but is apparently too scarce for...
S. I. SmithSidney Irving SmithSidney Irving Smith was an American zoologist.-Private life:Sidney Smith was the son of Elliot Smith and Lavinia Barton. His brother in law was Addison Emery Verrill. Smith married Eugenia Pocahontas Barber in New Haven, Connecticut on June 29, 1882...
, 1885. - Bumphead damselfish, Microspathodon bairdii (GillTheodore GillTheodore Nicholas Gill was an American ichthyologist, mammalogist, malacologist and librarian.Born and educated in New York City under private tutors, Gill early showed interest in natural history. He was associated with J...
, 1862). - Marlin-spike grenadier, Nezumia bairdii (GoodeGeorge Brown GoodeGeorge Brown Goode , was an ichthyologist, although most of his time was spent as a museum administrator and he was very interested in the history of science, especially the history of the development of science in America. Goode graduated from Wesleyan University and studied at Harvard University...
& BeanTarleton Hoffman BeanTarleton Hoffman Bean was an American ichthyologist, born at Bainbridge, Pennsylvania on 8 October 1846. He died in Albany, New York on 28 December 1916.-FAMILY AND EDUCATION :...
, 1877). - Baird's TrogonBaird's TrogonThe Baird's Trogon is a species of bird in the Trogonidae family.It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
, Trogon bairdii Lawrence, 1868. - Tanner CrabChionoecetesChionoecetes is a genus of crabs that live in the northern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.Other names for crabs in this genus include "queen crab" and "spider crab" – they are known by different names in different areas of the world....
, Chionoecetes bairdi RathbunMary RathbunMary J. Rathbun was an American zoologist who specialized in crustaceans. She worked at the Smithsonian Institution, often unaided, from 1884 until her death...
, 1924 - Baird's Rat Snake, Pantherophis bairdiPantherophis bairdiPantherophis bairdi is a harmless colubrid species found in the United States in the Big Bend region of western Texas, as well as in northern Mexico in Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. The species was named in honor of the American zoologist Spencer Fullerton Baird. No subspecies are currently...
(Yarrow, 1880). - Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii
- The Cuban Ivory-billed WoodpeckerCuban Ivory-billed WoodpeckerThe Cuban Ivory-billed Woodpecker or Carpintero real is, or was, a Cuban subspecies of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker . Once classified as a separate species, recent research has indicated that C. p...
, Campephilus bairdii (now C. principalis bairdii), CassinJohn CassinJohn Cassin was an American ornithologist.He is considered to be one of the giants of American ornithology, and was America's first taxonomist, describing 198 birds not previously mentioned by Alexander Wilson and John James Audubon...
, 1863.