Baird of the Smithsonian

Posted by on Nov 30, 2013 in | Comments Off on Baird of the Smithsonian “You see sir, I have taken (after much hesitation) the liberty of writing to you. I am but a boy, and very inexperienced, as you no doubt will observe from my description of the Flycatcher.” In this way, young Spencer Fullerton Baird, seventeen years of age, introduced himself by letter to John James Audubon. His accurate description and measurements of the flycatcher enabled Audubon...
read more

Ewell Sale Stewart Library Books

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Ewell Sale Stewart Library Books Established in 1812 “for the encour­agement and cultivation of the sciences, and the advancement of useful learning,” the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia is the oldest natural sci­ences institution in the Western Hemi­sphere. The Academy’s Ewell Sale Stew­art Library, with its extensive collections of books, manuscripts, maps, paintings, and photographs, has been...
read more

Nessmuk

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Nessmuk George Washington Sears was born in South Oxford, Massachusetts, in 1821, the oldest of ten children. At the age of eight, he was put to work in a cotton mill, frequently escaping to the woods with a young Narragansett Indian named Nessmuk (meaning wood duck or wood drake), who taught him how to hunt, fish, and set up camp. At the age of twelve, Sears escaped to his grandmother’s house on...
read more

Edward Drinker Cope, Pennsylvania’s Greatest Naturalist

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Edward Drinker Cope, Pennsylvania’s Greatest Naturalist Despite Americans’ age-old fascination with dinosaurs, probably few recognize the name Edward Drinker Cope (1840-1897). Although his name may not be as familiar as others in the long record of natural history – John James Audubon, John and William Bartram, Louis Agassiz – he has earned bis rightful place among America’s most accomplished and eminent natural scientists....
read more