Jacob Lawson Wortman

Born on August 25, 1856, in Oregon, Jacob Lawson Wortman became interested in geology and paleontology while studying in Oregon. He left school to join fossil-collecting expeditions in the American West, where he worked with leading paleontologists of the day and developed a reputation as a skilled collector and preparator.

He later worked in Washington, D.C., including at the Army and Navy Medical Museum, and completed medical studies at Georgetown Medical College. Wortman also worked with Edward Drinker Cope in Philadelphia before joining the American Museum of Natural History in New York, where he led major expeditions and helped build important fossil collections.

Wortman is remembered for his role in uncovering and preparing fossil material that supported important scientific studies of prehistoric mammals. He died on June 26, 1926, in Brownsville, Texas.