J. A. (Joel Asaph) Allen

Born in Deerfield, Massachusetts, in 1838, Joel Asaph Allen became one of the leading American naturalists of his era. He was especially known for his work in zoology, mammalogy, and ornithology, and he built a reputation as a careful observer and prolific scientific writer.

Allen was closely associated with the American Museum of Natural History, where he served as curator of birds and mammals and later led the museum’s Department of Ornithology. He also played a major role in the early American Ornithologists’ Union, serving as its first president.

Over the course of a long career, he published extensively on North American animals and helped bring greater rigor to the classification and study of species. He died in 1921, remembered as one of the key figures in the development of modern American zoology.