Roger Tory Peterson
Encyclopedia
Roger Tory Peterson was an American naturalist
, ornithologist
, artist, and educator, and held to be one of the founding inspirations for the 20th century environmental movement.
, August 28, 1908. His father, Charles Peterson, was an immigrant from Sweden
, coming to America as an infant. At the age of ten, C. Peterson lost his father to appendicitis, and he was sent off to work in the mills. After leaving the mills, he earned his living as a traveling salesman. His mother, Henrietta Badar, was an immigrant from Germany
, at the age of four, growing up in Rochester, New York
. She went to a teachers' college, and was teaching in Elmira, New York
, when she met Charles. They married, and moved to Jamestown, a small, industrial city in south-west New York, where C. Peterson took a job at a local furniture factory.
In 1934 he published his seminal Guide to the Bird
s, the first modern field guide
, which sold out its first printing of 2‚000 copies in one week, and subsequently went through 6 editions. He co-wrote Wild America with James Fisher
, and edited or wrote many of the volumes in the Peterson Field Guide series, on topics ranging from rock
s and mineral
s to beetle
s to reptile
s. He developed the Peterson Identification System
, and is known for the clarity of both his illustrations of field guides and his delineation of relevant field marks.
Paul R. Ehrlich
, in The Birder's Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds (Fireside. 1988), said this about Peterson:
Peterson received every major American award for natural science, ornithology, and conservation, as well as numerous honorary medals, diplomas, and citations from America and elsewhere, including the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom
and the Order of the Golden Ark
of the Netherlands
. In 1977, he was honored by selection by the two Swedish District lodges of the Vasa Order of America
to be Swedish-American of the Year. He received nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize
and honorary doctorates from numerous American universities.
He died in 1996 at his home in Old Lyme, Connecticut
. Roger Tory Peterson was cremated following his death. A portion of his ashes were spread on and round Great Island near Old Lyme, Connecticut
. Another portion of his ashes are buried in the Old Lyme Cemetery also known as the Duck River Cemetery
. A third portion of his ashes is inurned in the Pine Hill Cemetery, Falconer, New York
in the family plot where his father and paternal grandparents are buried.
The Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History in Jamestown, New York
is named in his honor. A critically lauded biography, Birdwatcher: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson (The Lyons Press. 2008) by Elizabeth Rosenthal, was published for the centennial anniversary of Peterson's birth.
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, ornithologist
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
, artist, and educator, and held to be one of the founding inspirations for the 20th century environmental movement.
Background
Peterson was born in Jamestown, New YorkJamestown, New York
Jamestown is a city in Chautauqua County, New York in the United States. The population was 31,146 at the 2010 census.The City of Jamestown is adjacent to Town of Ellicott and is at the southern tip of Chautauqua Lake...
, August 28, 1908. His father, Charles Peterson, was an immigrant from Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, coming to America as an infant. At the age of ten, C. Peterson lost his father to appendicitis, and he was sent off to work in the mills. After leaving the mills, he earned his living as a traveling salesman. His mother, Henrietta Badar, was an immigrant from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, at the age of four, growing up in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
. She went to a teachers' college, and was teaching in Elmira, New York
Elmira, New York
Elmira is a city in Chemung County, New York, USA. It is the principal city of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses Chemung County, New York. The population was 29,200 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Chemung County.The City of Elmira is located in...
, when she met Charles. They married, and moved to Jamestown, a small, industrial city in south-west New York, where C. Peterson took a job at a local furniture factory.
Career
Peterson's first work on birds was an article "Notes from field and study" in the magazine Bird-lore, where he recorded anecdotally two sight records from 1925, a Carolina Wren and a TitmouseIn 1934 he published his seminal Guide to the Bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s, the first modern field guide
Field guide
A field guide is a book designed to help the reader identify wildlife or other objects of natural occurrence . It is generally designed to be brought into the 'field' or local area where such objects exist to help distinguish between similar objects...
, which sold out its first printing of 2‚000 copies in one week, and subsequently went through 6 editions. He co-wrote Wild America with James Fisher
James Fisher
James Maxwell McConnell Fisher was a British author, editor, broadcaster, naturalist and ornithologist...
, and edited or wrote many of the volumes in the Peterson Field Guide series, on topics ranging from rock
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
s and mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
s to beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s to reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
s. He developed the Peterson Identification System
Peterson Identification System
The Peterson Identification System is a practical method for the field identification of animals, plants and other natural phenomena. It was devised by ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson in 1934 for the first of his series of Field Guides Peterson devised his system "so that live birds could be...
, and is known for the clarity of both his illustrations of field guides and his delineation of relevant field marks.
Paul R. Ehrlich
Paul R. Ehrlich
Paul Ralph Ehrlich is an American biologist and educator who is the Bing Professor of Population Studies in the department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University and president of Stanford's Center for Conservation Biology. By training he is an entomologist specializing in Lepidoptera , but...
, in The Birder's Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds (Fireside. 1988), said this about Peterson:
In this century, no one has done more to promote an interest in living creatures than Roger Tory Peterson, the inventor of the modern field guide.
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
and the Order of the Golden Ark
Order of the Golden Ark
The Most Excellent Order of the Golden Ark was established by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands in 1971 as an order of merit. Although not awarded by, it is recognized by the government of the Netherlands as a legal order. It is awarded to people for major contributions to nature conservation...
of the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. In 1977, he was honored by selection by the two Swedish District lodges of the Vasa Order of America
Vasa Order of America
Vasa Order of America is a Swedish-American fraternal, cultural and educational organization.-History:Vasa Order of America was founded in 1896 in New Haven, Connecticut at the height of Swedish immigration to the United States as a Swedish-American fraternal order. Vasa Order of America emerged...
to be Swedish-American of the Year. He received nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
and honorary doctorates from numerous American universities.
He died in 1996 at his home in Old Lyme, Connecticut
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Old Lyme is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Main Street of the town is a historic district. The town has long been a popular summer resort and artists' colony...
. Roger Tory Peterson was cremated following his death. A portion of his ashes were spread on and round Great Island near Old Lyme, Connecticut
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Old Lyme is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Main Street of the town is a historic district. The town has long been a popular summer resort and artists' colony...
. Another portion of his ashes are buried in the Old Lyme Cemetery also known as the Duck River Cemetery
Duck River Cemetery
The Old Lyme Cemetery, also known as the Duck River Cemetery is the town burying ground of Old Lyme, Connecticut. The oldest surviving grave marker dates from 1676. A tidal stream known as the Duck River and a salt marsh bisect the burying ground....
. A third portion of his ashes is inurned in the Pine Hill Cemetery, Falconer, New York
Falconer, New York
Falconer is a village in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 2,540 at the 2000 census.The Village of Falconer is within the Town of Ellicott. Falconer is on the eastern edge of the City of Jamestown, New York.- History :...
in the family plot where his father and paternal grandparents are buried.
The Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History in Jamestown, New York
Jamestown, New York
Jamestown is a city in Chautauqua County, New York in the United States. The population was 31,146 at the 2010 census.The City of Jamestown is adjacent to Town of Ellicott and is at the southern tip of Chautauqua Lake...
is named in his honor. A critically lauded biography, Birdwatcher: The Life of Roger Tory Peterson (The Lyons Press. 2008) by Elizabeth Rosenthal, was published for the centennial anniversary of Peterson's birth.
Publications
- A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America (Houghton Mifflin‚ fifth edition. 2002, earlier editions 1934‚ 1939‚ 1941‚ 1947‚ 1980‚ 1994)
- The Field Guide Art of Roger Tory Peterson (Easton Press, 1990. 2 volumes)
- Save the Birds with Antony W. Diamond‚ Rudolf L. Schreiber‚ Walter CronkiteWalter CronkiteWalter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
(Houghton Mifflin‚ 1987) - Peterson First Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America (Houghton Mifflin‚ 1986)
- Peterson First Guide to Birds of North America (Houghton Mifflin‚ 1986)
- The Audubon Society Baby Elephant Folio with Virginia Peterson (Abbeville Press‚ 1981)
- Penguins (Houghton Mifflin‚ 1979)
- Birds of America (National Audubon Society‚ 1978)
- A Field Guide to Mexican Birds with Edward Chalif (Houghton Mifflin, 1973, Spanish translation‚ Editorial Diana‚ 1989)
- A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America with Margaret McKenny). (Houghton Mifflin‚ 1968)
- The World of Birds with James Fisher (Doubleday‚ 1964)
- A Field Guide to the Birds of Texas and Adjacent States (Houghton Mifflin‚ 1960, revised 1963)
- A Bird-Watcher's Anthology (Harcourt Brace‚ 1957)
- Wild America with James Fisher (Houghton Mifflin, 1955)
- A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe with Guy MountfortGuy MountfortGuy Mountfort OBE was an English advertising executive, amateur ornithologist and conservationist.-Biography:...
, and P.A.D. HollomPhilip HollomPhilip Arthur Dominic Hollom is a British ornithologist.In 1951, he became a member of the editorial board of British Birds magazine under the senior editorship of Max Nicholson, whom he succeeded in 1960...
(William Collins, 1954)- 1965 edition: revised and enlarged in collaboration with I.J. Ferguson-LeesJames Ferguson-LeesI. James Ferguson-Lees is a British ornithologist. He spent his early years in Italy and France, but was educated in Bedford, England. He turned down the chance to study zoology at Oxford University in order to get married, and became a teacher for seven years...
and D.I.M. WallaceD. Ian M. WallaceD. Ian M. Wallace is a British birder, author and artist. He lives in Staffordshire.D.I.M... - 1971 impression: ISBN 0 00 212020 8
- 2004 edition: ISBN 978-0007192342
- 1965 edition: revised and enlarged in collaboration with I.J. Ferguson-Lees
- Wildlife in Color (Houghton Mifflin‚ 1951)
- How to Know the Birds (Houghton Mifflin‚ 1949)
- Birds Over America (Dodd, Mead and Company‚ 1948, revised 1964)
- A Field Guide to Western Birds (Houghton Mifflin‚ 1941, revised 1961‚ 1990)
- The Audubon Guide to Attracting Birds with John H. Baker (National Audubon Society‚ 1941)
Other sources
- Devlin, John C. and Grace Naismith The World of Roger Tory Peterson - An Authorised Biography. (New York Times Books. 1977) ISBN 0-8129-0694-2
- Carlson, Douglas Roger Tory Peterson: A Biography (The University of Texas Press. 2007) ISBN 978-0-292-71680-3.
- Ehrlich, Paul R.Paul R. EhrlichPaul Ralph Ehrlich is an American biologist and educator who is the Bing Professor of Population Studies in the department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University and president of Stanford's Center for Conservation Biology. By training he is an entomologist specializing in Lepidoptera , but...
, David S. Dobkin and Darryl Wheye The Birder's Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds (Fireside. 1988) ISBN 0-6716-5989-8. - Rosenthal, Elizabeth J. Birdwatcher: the Life of Roger Tory Peterson (The Lyons Press. 2008) ISBN 978-1599212944.