Alexander Wetmore
Encyclopedia
Frank Alexander Wetmore (June 18, 1886 North Freedom
North Freedom, Wisconsin
North Freedom is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Baraboo River. The population was 649 at the 2000 census.-Geography:North Freedom is located at ....

, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 – December 7, 1978 Glen Echo
Glen Echo, Maryland
Glen Echo is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, that was chartered in 1904. The population was 242 at the 2000 census.Glen Echo derives its name from Edward and Edwin Baltzley, who came up with name circa 1888...

, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 ornithologist and avian paleontologist.

Life

Wetmore studied at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...

. He later studied at George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...

, receiving his masters degree and doctorate.

Wetmore began federal service in 1910, working for the Biological Survey of the Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...

.

In 1915, he researched the use of lead shot in causing death in waterfowl. His paleontological research led to his work on the fossil birds Palaeochenoides mioceanus and Nesotrochis debooyi
Antillean Cave Rail
The Antillean Cave Rail , also known as DeBooy's Rail, is an extinct rail species which occurred on Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. Bone fragments of this species were first unearthed by archaeologist Theodoor de Booy in kitchen midden deposits on the Richmond estate near...

.

In 1924, Wetmore joined the Smithsonian Institution as the superintendent of the National Zoological Park in Washington. In 1925, Wetmore was appointed assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...

, becoming secretary between 1945 and 1952. In 1939 he was elected a Corresponding Member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union
Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union Fellows
The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union may elect somebody to the position of Fellow, the highest grade of membership, for service to the RAOU and to ornithology. Fellows of the RAOU are entitled to use the letters FRAOU after their name. There is a limit to the number of Fellows that may...



He wrote A Systematic Classification for the Birds of the World (1930, revised in 1951 and 1960). This Wetmore Order received widespread acceptance, remaining popular until the end of the twentieth century.

Between 1946 and 1966 Wetmore made annual trips to Panama to study and collect specimens of the birds of the Isthmus. His 4-volume magnum opus, Birds of the Republic of Panama, was published by the Smithsonian between 1965 and 1984, the last volume appearing posthumously.

He also served on the board of trustees of Science Service, now known as Society for Science & the Public
Society for Science & the Public
Society for Science & the Public , formerly known as Science Service, is a 5013 non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of science, through its science education programs and publications, including the weekly Science News magazine.Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the organization...

, from 1946-1953.

Several taxa
Taxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...

 of birds have been named in his honor, including the Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...

 genus Alexornis
Alexornis
Alexornis is a genus of enantiornithine bird from the Late Cretaceous of southwestern North America. The type and only species is Alexornis antecedens....

and the tanager
Tanager
The tanagers comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has an American distribution.There were traditionally about 240 species of tanagers, but the taxonomic treatment of this family's members is currently in a state of flux...

s Wetmorethraupis sterrhopteron
Orange-throated Tanager
The Orange-throated Tanager is a threatened species of bird found very locally in humid forests around the Ecuador-Peru border. It is the only member of the genus Wetmorethraupis, named after the ornithologist Alexander Wetmore...

and Buthraupis wetmorei. Insects, mammals, amphibians, mollusks, and one plant (an Argentinian cactus), as well as a bridge in Panama and the Wetmore Glacier in the Antarctic, have also been named after him.

His papers and an oral history interview are held at the Smithsonian Institution.

External links

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