author
Spencer Fullerton Baird
1823–1887
A leading American naturalist of the 19th century, he helped shape the Smithsonian into a major center for research and collecting. His work ranged across birds, fish, reptiles, and museum science, leaving a lasting mark on American natural history.
3 Audiobooks
A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 3 of 3
by Spencer Fullerton Baird, T. M. (Thomas Mayo) Brewer, Robert Ridgway
A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 1 of 3
by Spencer Fullerton Baird, T. M. (Thomas Mayo) Brewer, Robert Ridgway
A History of North American Birds; Land Birds; Vol. 2 of 3
by Spencer Fullerton Baird, T. M. (Thomas Mayo) Brewer, Robert Ridgway
About the author
Born on February 3, 1823, in Reading, Pennsylvania, Spencer Fullerton Baird became one of the most important American scientists of his era. He was a naturalist and zoologist with especially strong interests in birds, fishes, reptiles, and mammals, and he built a reputation early through wide-ranging study and publication.
Baird joined the Smithsonian Institution in 1850 and became its first curator. Over the years he served as assistant secretary and later as Secretary of the Smithsonian, guiding the growth of its natural history collections and helping turn the institution into a national center for scientific research and museum work.
He also played a major role in federal science beyond the Smithsonian, including service as the first U.S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. Remembered for both his scientific knowledge and his gift for organizing large collections and research networks, he died on August 19, 1887, in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.