author
Robert W. (Robert Warren) Wilson
1909–2006
A leading vertebrate paleontologist, he spent decades studying fossil mammals and helping shape the field in North America. His career was honored with a dedicated volume of research papers and, later, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology’s Romer-Simpson Medal.
1 Audiobook
Preliminary Survey of a Paleocene Faunule from the Angels Peak Area, New Mexico
by Robert W. (Robert Warren) Wilson
About the author
Born in Oakland, California, on July 26, 1909, he first went to the California Institute of Technology planning to study chemistry, but turned instead to geology. He became known as Robert W. Wilson, or Robert Warren Wilson, and built a long career in vertebrate paleontology with a special focus on fossil mammals of the Tertiary and Quaternary in North America.
Archival records at the University of Kansas describe his work at the University of Kansas Museum of Natural History and at the South Dakota School of Mines and Geology's Geology Museum. By 1984, colleagues had published Papers in Vertebrate Paleontology Honoring Robert Warren Wilson, a tribute that reflects the respect he earned within the discipline.
That respect continued into his later years. In 1999, he received the Romer-Simpson Medal from the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, the organization’s highest honor for sustained scholarly excellence and service. He died in 2006, leaving behind a legacy tied to careful fossil research, museum work, and the growth of vertebrate paleontology as a field.