Walter Edmond Clyde Todd
Encyclopedia
Walter Edmond Clyde Todd (Smithfield, Ohio
, September 6, 1874 – June 25, 1969), generally known as W.E. Clyde Todd, was an American
ornithologist.
In 1891 Todd abandoned his studies at Geneva College
to take up a post as messenger with Clinton Hart Merriam
at the United States Department of Agriculture
, where his first job was the sorting and cataloging of a collection of bird
stomach
s preserved in alcohol
. In Washington
he met many leading scientists including Robert Ridgway, whom he took as a role model
.
Discontented with government work, in 1898 Todd contracted with the fledgling Carnegie Museum
to collect bird specimens in western Pennsylvania
. He soon joined the museum as Assistant, and remained there the rest of his working life, which was much prolonged beyond any normal retirement age. He continued with field work on Pennsylvania, and later in north-eastern Canada, and would later produce two major works, Birds of Western Pennsylvania (1940) and Birds of the Labrador peninsula and adjacent areas (1963); along with many descriptions of new taxa and systematic studies based on the Museum's growing collection of neotropical birds. Todd's specialty was the Arctic - he participated in over twenty expeditions before producing Birds of the Labrador Peninsula. He chose the Arctic as his specialty because of a bout of malaria he contracted while working in Washington, DC, which prevented him from working in tropical climates. Despite his inability to do fieldwork in Central and South America, his first book was called The Birds of Santa Marta and focused on a particular region of Colombia. Todd's research was based entirely on the collections of bird skins he had amassed at the Carnegie Museum, but he still won the Brewster Prize (the Pulitzer of the ornithological world) for it.
A long-time Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union
, he was elected Fellow Emeritus in 1968. He was also noted for his local initiatives in conservation and philanthropy. In his book Birds of Western Pennsylvania and his pamphlet (published post-mortem) Birds of the Buffalo Creek Region, he displays both his love of Western Pennsylvania ecology and a prescience about such topics as urban sprawl, global warming, and habitat fragmentation. He was also a vocal critic of private collections and of museums that amassed multiple versions of the same bird or bird's eggs, denouncing such practices as wasteful and not contributing to the study of birds. Although he married, he became a widower early in life and did not have any children. As a result, he devoted a substantial amount of personal resources to conservation of the area where he had spent much of his childhood, Buffalo Township (in Butler County). In 1942, he purchased seventy-one acres on the site of his grandfather's farm, where he had made his first significant ornithological discovery. The land would otherwise have been logged; he rescued it via his purchase and donated it to the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania (ASWP) with the suggestion that it be turned into a nature reserve. The society honored his wishes, and in 1956 he donated an additional sixty-one acres south of his initial donation. ASWP has continued to add to the nature reserve and as of 2009 it stood at 224 acre (0.90649664 km²). Todd Nature Reserve
, located off Route 28 and Highway 356 in Butler County, is named for W.E. Clyde Todd and is open to the public dawn to dusk throughout the year (with the exception of hunting season in November-December).
Smithfield, Ohio
Smithfield is a village in Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. The population was 867 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, September 6, 1874 – June 25, 1969), generally known as W.E. Clyde Todd, was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ornithologist.
In 1891 Todd abandoned his studies at Geneva College
Geneva College
Geneva College is a Christian liberal arts college in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, United States, north of Pittsburgh. Founded in 1848, in Northwood, Ohio, the college moved to its present location in 1880, where it continues to educate a student body of about 1400 traditional undergraduates in...
to take up a post as messenger with Clinton Hart Merriam
Clinton Hart Merriam
Clinton Hart Merriam was an American zoologist, ornithologist, entomologist and ethnographer.Known as "Hart" to his friends, Dr. Clinton Hart Merriam was born in New York City in 1855. His father, Clinton Levi Merriam, was a U.S. congressman. He studied biology and anatomy at Yale University and...
at the United States 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...
, where his first job was the sorting and cataloging of a collection of 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...
stomach
Stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as an important organ of the digestive tract in some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects , and molluscs. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication .The stomach is...
s preserved in alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
. In Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
he met many leading scientists including Robert Ridgway, whom he took as a role model
Role model
The term role model generally means any "person who serves as an example, whose behaviour is emulated by others".The term first appeared in Robert K. Merton's socialization research of medical students...
.
Discontented with government work, in 1898 Todd contracted with the fledgling Carnegie Museum
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh are four museums that are operated by the Carnegie Institute headquartered in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
to collect bird specimens in western Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. He soon joined the museum as Assistant, and remained there the rest of his working life, which was much prolonged beyond any normal retirement age. He continued with field work on Pennsylvania, and later in north-eastern Canada, and would later produce two major works, Birds of Western Pennsylvania (1940) and Birds of the Labrador peninsula and adjacent areas (1963); along with many descriptions of new taxa and systematic studies based on the Museum's growing collection of neotropical birds. Todd's specialty was the Arctic - he participated in over twenty expeditions before producing Birds of the Labrador Peninsula. He chose the Arctic as his specialty because of a bout of malaria he contracted while working in Washington, DC, which prevented him from working in tropical climates. Despite his inability to do fieldwork in Central and South America, his first book was called The Birds of Santa Marta and focused on a particular region of Colombia. Todd's research was based entirely on the collections of bird skins he had amassed at the Carnegie Museum, but he still won the Brewster Prize (the Pulitzer of the ornithological world) for it.
A long-time Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union
American Ornithologists' Union
The American Ornithologists' Union is an ornithological organization in the USA. Unlike the National Audubon Society, its members are primarily professional ornithologists rather than amateur birders...
, he was elected Fellow Emeritus in 1968. He was also noted for his local initiatives in conservation and philanthropy. In his book Birds of Western Pennsylvania and his pamphlet (published post-mortem) Birds of the Buffalo Creek Region, he displays both his love of Western Pennsylvania ecology and a prescience about such topics as urban sprawl, global warming, and habitat fragmentation. He was also a vocal critic of private collections and of museums that amassed multiple versions of the same bird or bird's eggs, denouncing such practices as wasteful and not contributing to the study of birds. Although he married, he became a widower early in life and did not have any children. As a result, he devoted a substantial amount of personal resources to conservation of the area where he had spent much of his childhood, Buffalo Township (in Butler County). In 1942, he purchased seventy-one acres on the site of his grandfather's farm, where he had made his first significant ornithological discovery. The land would otherwise have been logged; he rescued it via his purchase and donated it to the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania (ASWP) with the suggestion that it be turned into a nature reserve. The society honored his wishes, and in 1956 he donated an additional sixty-one acres south of his initial donation. ASWP has continued to add to the nature reserve and as of 2009 it stood at 224 acre (0.90649664 km²). Todd Nature Reserve
Todd Nature Reserve
Todd Nature Reserve is a nature reserve owned and operated by the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. It is located in Buffalo Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania; approximately thirty miles northeast of Pittsburgh, and five miles north of Freeport. The original portion of the reserve...
, located off Route 28 and Highway 356 in Butler County, is named for W.E. Clyde Todd and is open to the public dawn to dusk throughout the year (with the exception of hunting season in November-December).