Richard Archbold
Encyclopedia
Richard Archbold was an American
zoologist and philanthropist
. He was independently wealthy, being the grandson of the capitalist John Dustin Archbold
. He was educated at private schools and later attended classes at Columbia University
though he never graduated. He used his share of his family's wealth first to sponsor a series of biological expeditions to New Guinea
for the American Museum of Natural History
, and later to establish, maintain and endow a biological research station in Florida. In 1929 Archbold joined the ranks of members of the Explorers Club in New York.
(1929-1931), led by Jean Delacour
, on which he was responsible for mammal collecting. The American component of this expedition was funded by his father, John F. Archbold, with the proviso that his son be included. It was on this expedition that Archbold first met Austin L. Rand
, the expedition ornithologist, who became a long-term research collaborator and life-long friend. It was also during the course of this expedition that he learnt of the death of his father.
, Archbold financed (and personally led the first three of) a series of major biological expeditions to New Guinea
. In these expeditions the principal zoologist (and often co-leader) was Austin Rand, and the principal botanist Leonard Brass
:
. This used conventional equipment, pack animals and human carriers. Logistical problems and limitations started Archbold thinking about the use of aircraft for future expeditions, as well as radio for communications.
, along the Fly
and Palmer River
s and in the Wassi Kussa area. The expedition used radio as well as a Fairchild 91
amphibian flying boat; however, the loss of the plane at anchor at Port Moresby
during a tropical storm limited the amount of work done.
, concentrating on the north slope of the Snow Mountains
, from Mt Wilhelmina
to the Idenburg River (a tributary of the Mamberamo River
), making collections at altitudes from near sea-level to over 4,000 m at the upper limit of vegetation.
Piloted by Russell R. Rogers, the expedition used a PBY-2 Catalina
flying boat
(named Guba II), that could land on suitable lakes and rivers, to provide supplies to the expedition as well as performing other duties such as aerial reconnaissance and photography. It was through an aerial reconnaissance flight early in the expedition that the discovery was made, on 23 June 1938, of the hitherto unknown, though densely populated, Baliem Valley
, home to the Dani people
.
, representing Australia
n interests which, with war impending, wanted to determine the practicality of an air route from Australia to Europe over the Indian Ocean
and via Africa rather than Asia. It appeared that Guba II was the only suitable aircraft for the job at short notice. As Archbold was amenable to the project, his plane was effectively chartered for the crossing by the Australian government (which paid for fuel and other provisions used during the flight) and his flying crew augmented by Taylor as navigator.
The intended flight path across the Indian Ocean was from Port Hedland, Western Australia
to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
, Diego Garcia
, the Seychelles
and Mombasa, Kenya. Apart from the initial leg of the flight, when the plane was forced, after leaving Port Hedland, to detour via Batavia (now Jakarta
) because of bad weather, the flight was made without major problems. In Mombasa Taylor left the crew to return to Australia and Archbold continued the flight westwards, landing in New York
in July 1939.
in the Pacific, the series of expeditions to New Guinea came to a halt, and in 1941 Archbold established the Archbold Biological Station
at Lake Placid
, Florida
, where he lived the rest of his life. There were four further Archbold-financed expeditions to New Guinea after the war, but Archbold did not personally participate in them.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
zoologist and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
. He was independently wealthy, being the grandson of the capitalist John Dustin Archbold
John Dustin Archbold
John Dustin Archbold was an American capitalist and one of the United States' earliest oil refiners. He was the grandfather of zoologist Richard Archbold.-Biography:...
. He was educated at private schools and later attended classes at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
though he never graduated. He used his share of his family's wealth first to sponsor a series of biological expeditions to New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
for the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
, and later to establish, maintain and endow a biological research station in Florida. In 1929 Archbold joined the ranks of members of the Explorers Club in New York.
Madagascar expedition
In 1928 Archbold was invited to participate in a Franco-British-American zoological expedition to MadagascarMadagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
(1929-1931), led by Jean Delacour
Jean Théodore Delacour
Jean Théodore Delacour was an American ornithologist of French origin. He was renowned for not only discovering but also rearing some of the rarest birds in the world...
, on which he was responsible for mammal collecting. The American component of this expedition was funded by his father, John F. Archbold, with the proviso that his son be included. It was on this expedition that Archbold first met Austin L. Rand
Austin L. Rand
Austin Loomer Rand was a Canadian zoologist.He was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia in 1905 and grew up in nearby Wolfville, where he was mentored by the noted local ornithologist Robie W. Tufts...
, the expedition ornithologist, who became a long-term research collaborator and life-long friend. It was also during the course of this expedition that he learnt of the death of his father.
New Guinea expeditions
In the 1930s, inspired and encouraged by Ernst MayrErnst Mayr
Ernst Walter Mayr was one of the 20th century's leading evolutionary biologists. He was also a renowned taxonomist, tropical explorer, ornithologist, historian of science, and naturalist...
, Archbold financed (and personally led the first three of) a series of major biological expeditions to New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. In these expeditions the principal zoologist (and often co-leader) was Austin Rand, and the principal botanist Leonard Brass
Leonard John Brass
Leonard John Brass was an Australian and American botanist, botanical collector and explorer. He was born at Toowoomba, Queensland...
:
1933-34 Expedition
The first Archbold expedition to New Guinea took place in south-eastern New Guinea, covering an altitude range from sea-level to alpine tundraAlpine tundra
Alpine tundra is a natural region that does not contain trees because it is at high altitude. Alpine tundra is distinguished from arctic tundra, because alpine soils are generally better drained than arctic soils...
. This used conventional equipment, pack animals and human carriers. Logistical problems and limitations started Archbold thinking about the use of aircraft for future expeditions, as well as radio for communications.
1936-37 Expedition
The second Archbold expedition to New Guinea took place from February 1936 to January 1937 in southern New Guinea, chiefly at and near DaruDaru
Daru is the capital of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. The township is entirely located on an island that goes by the same name, which is located near the mouth of the Fly River on the western side of the Gulf, just north of Torres Strait and Far North Queensland...
, along the Fly
Fly River
The Fly at , is the second longest river, after the Sepik, in Papua New Guinea. The Fly is the largest river in Oceania, the largest in the world without a single dam in its catchment, and overall ranks as the twenty-fifth largest river in the world by volume of discharge...
and Palmer River
Palmer River
The Palmer River is a river southwest of Cooktown in northeastern Australia. It was the site of a gold rush in the late 19th century which started in 1872. The Palmer River flows west across Cape York to the Gulf of Carpentaria, via the Mitchell River...
s and in the Wassi Kussa area. The expedition used radio as well as a Fairchild 91
Fairchild 91
The Fairchild 91, , was a small flying boat airliner developed in the United states in the mid-1930s.-Design:Fairchild designed the aircraft in response to a Pan American Airways request for a small flying boat to operate on their river routes along the Amazon and Yangtze...
amphibian flying boat; however, the loss of the plane at anchor at Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
during a tropical storm limited the amount of work done.
1938-39 Expedition
The third and most ambitious Archbold expedition to New Guinea took place from April 1938 to May 1939 in Netherlands New GuineaNetherlands New Guinea
Netherlands New Guinea refers to the West Papua region while it was an overseas territory of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1949 to 1962. Until 1949 it was a part of the Netherlands Indies. It was commonly known as Dutch New Guinea...
, concentrating on the north slope of the Snow Mountains
Jayawijaya Mountains
The Jayawijaya Mountains, formerly known as the Orange Range, are the eastern mountain range of the Maoke Mountains in the central highlands region of the Indonesian part of New Guinea. The range extends for 230 miles east of the Sudirman Range to the Star Mountains. Its highest point is Trikora...
, from Mt Wilhelmina
Puncak Trikora
Puncak Trikora, until 1963 Wilhelmina Peak, is a 4730 or high mountain in the Papua province of Indonesia on New Guinea. It lies in the eastern part of the Sudirman Range of the Maoke Mountains. Behind Puncak Jaya at , it is either the second or third highest mountain on the island of New Guinea...
to the Idenburg River (a tributary of the Mamberamo River
Mamberamo River
The Mamberamo is a large river on the island of New Guinea, in the Indonesian province of Papua. It is the widest river in Indonesia.The source of the river is formed from the confluences of its upper tributaries, the Tariku and Taritatu Rivers...
), making collections at altitudes from near sea-level to over 4,000 m at the upper limit of vegetation.
Piloted by Russell R. Rogers, the expedition used a PBY-2 Catalina
PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
(named Guba II), that could land on suitable lakes and rivers, to provide supplies to the expedition as well as performing other duties such as aerial reconnaissance and photography. It was through an aerial reconnaissance flight early in the expedition that the discovery was made, on 23 June 1938, of the hitherto unknown, though densely populated, Baliem Valley
Baliem Valley
The Baliem Valley, also spelled Balim Valley and sometimes known as the Grand Valley, of the highlands of Western New Guinea, is occupied by the Dani people. The main town in the valley is Wamena...
, home to the Dani people
Dani People
The Dani people, also spelled Ndani, and sometimes conflated with the Lani group to the west, are a people from the central highlands of western New Guinea ....
.
Pioneer flight over the Indian Ocean
Towards the conclusion of the expedition in 1939, with Archbold intending to return to the USA across the Pacific, he was contacted by Captain P.G. TaylorPatrick Gordon Taylor
Sir Patrick Gordon Taylor GC MC OBE was an Australian aviator and author. He was born at Mosman, Sydney, and died in Honolulu....
, representing Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n interests which, with war impending, wanted to determine the practicality of an air route from Australia to Europe over the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
and via Africa rather than Asia. It appeared that Guba II was the only suitable aircraft for the job at short notice. As Archbold was amenable to the project, his plane was effectively chartered for the crossing by the Australian government (which paid for fuel and other provisions used during the flight) and his flying crew augmented by Taylor as navigator.
The intended flight path across the Indian Ocean was from Port Hedland, Western Australia
Port Hedland, Western Australia
Port Hedland is the highest tonnage port in Australia and largest town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with a population of approximately 14,000 ....
to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
The Territory of the Cocos Islands, also called Cocos Islands and Keeling Islands, is a territory of Australia, located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Christmas Island and approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka....
, Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is a tropical, footprint-shaped coral atoll located south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean at 7 degrees, 26 minutes south latitude. It is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory [BIOT] and is positioned at 72°23' east longitude....
, the Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
and Mombasa, Kenya. Apart from the initial leg of the flight, when the plane was forced, after leaving Port Hedland, to detour via Batavia (now Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
) because of bad weather, the flight was made without major problems. In Mombasa Taylor left the crew to return to Australia and Archbold continued the flight westwards, landing in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in July 1939.
Archbold Biological Station
With the outbreak of warWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in the Pacific, the series of expeditions to New Guinea came to a halt, and in 1941 Archbold established the Archbold Biological Station
Archbold Biological Station
The Archbold Biological Station is a research institute with a surrounding estate near Lake Placid, Florida, USA. It includes an extensive area of Florida scrub, a scientifically interesting and highly threatened ecosystem...
at Lake Placid
Lake Placid, Florida
Lake Placid is a town in Highlands County, Florida, United States. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the town's population as 1,878 on 1 July 2007...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, where he lived the rest of his life. There were four further Archbold-financed expeditions to New Guinea after the war, but Archbold did not personally participate in them.
Further reading
- Archbold, R.; & Rand, A.L. (1935). Summary of the 1933-1934 Papuan Expedition. Results of the Archbold Expeditions. No.7. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 68 (8): 527-579.
- Rand, Austin L. (1940). Summary of the 1936-1937 New Guinea Expedition. Results of the Archbold Expeditions. No.29. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 77 (7): 341-380.
- Archbold, R.; Rand, A.L.; & Brass, L.J. (1942). Summary of the 1938-1939 New Guinea Expedition. Results of the Archbold Expeditions. No.41. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 79 (3): 197-288.
- Morse, R. (2000). Richard Archbold and the Archbold Biological Station. University Press of Florida: Gainesville. ISBN 0-8130-1761-0
- Rand, A.L. (1977). Obituary: Richard Archbold, 1907-1976. Auk 94: 186-187.