Born in 1854, this Indiana farm boy was to become one of the Nation's most eloquent leaders in the protection of wildlife. His early interest was in scientific taxidermy. He founded the National Society of American Taxidermists in New York in 1880. He was appointed chief taxidermist of the U.S. National Museum in Washington, D.C. Later, as director of the New York Zoological Society, he supervised the building and administration of the Bronx Zoo. He wrote hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles and over 20 books in the field of conservation. He was a leading influence in the passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the 1911 Fur Seal Treaty. But his greatest victory was probably his successful fight to preserve the American bison from extermination.
