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The son of a physician, Frank
Alexander Wetmore was born in North Freedom, Wisconsin. Developing an interest in birds at an early age, he made his first field journal entry (a pelican seen while on vacation in 1894) at the age of eight. By 1900, Wetmore published his first paper "My Experience with a
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in 1905. During his studies there he did a stint as an assistant in the
University Museum, under the direction of Charles D. Bunker. Alexander Wetmore later received his BA from the University of Kansas in 1912; finally receiving his MS in 1916 and his PhD in 1920 from
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319:, where he served successively as vice chairman, acting chairman, and chairman emeritus of the Committee for Research and Exploration, from 1933 until his death, in his final years as a trustee emeritus.
299:(1930, revised in 1951 and 1960). This Wetmore Order received widespread acceptance, remaining popular until the end of the twentieth century. From 1944 to 1946 Wetmore served as the 15th president of
311:, was published by the Smithsonian between 1965 and 1984, the last volume appearing posthumously. He also served on the boards of trustees of Science Service, now known as
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SIA RU007006, Wetmore, Alexander 1886–1978, Alexander
Wetmore Papers, circa 1848–1979 and undated | Smithsonian Institution Archives
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351:. Insects, mammals, amphibians, mollusks, and one plant (an Argentinian cactus), as well as a bridge in Panama and the
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after his death in 1978. His papers and an oral history interview are held at the
Smithsonian Institution.
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Red-headed
Woodpecker," in the magazine Bird-Lore. To further his education Wetmore enrolled at the
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to study and collect specimens of the birds of the
Isthmus. His 4-volume magnum opus,
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279:. In 1924, Wetmore joined the Smithsonian Institution as the superintendent of the
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228:. Wetmore began federal service in 1910, working for the Biological Survey of the
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565:. Smithsonian miscellaneous collections ;v.117, no.4. Smithsonian Institution.
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287:, becoming secretary between 1945 and 1952. In 1929 he participated in the
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From April 1923 to July 1924, Wetmore was the lead scientist of the
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Corresponding Member of the Royal
Australasian Ornithologists Union
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631:. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp.
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American ornithologist and avian paleontologist (1886–1978)
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In 1925, Wetmore was appointed assistant secretary of the
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Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011).
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of birds have been named in his honor, including the
303:. Between 1946 and 1966 Wetmore made annual trips to
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A revised classification for the birds of the world
549:. Anthropology.si.edu. Retrieved on March 11, 2013.
190:(June 18, 1886 – December 7, 1978) was an American
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692:. Siarchives.si.edu. Retrieved on March 11, 2013.
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407:. Todayinsci.com. Retrieved on March 11, 2013.
996:Members of the American Philosophical Society
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202:. He was also an elected member of both the
603:"Alexander Wetmore page at the Smithsonian"
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951:Secretaries of the Smithsonian Institution
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651:"In Memoriam: Beatrice Wetmore, 1910–1997"
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740:Alexander Wetmore Oral History Interviews
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455:, Volume 56, Office of the Home Secretary
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198:. He was the sixth Secretary of the
382:Annie Beatrice van der Biest Thielan
313:Society for Science & the Public
37:Wetmore with his wife Beatrice, 1969
956:George Washington University alumni
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961:People from Sauk County, Wisconsin
717:National Museum of Natural History
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629:The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles
981:20th-century American zoologists
744:Smithsonian Institution Archives
726:Smithsonian Institution Archives
520:Smithsonian Institution Archives
422:"In Memoriam: Alexander Wetmore"
405:Alexander Wetmore, Ornithologist
315:, from 1946 to 1953, and of the
281:National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
976:People from Glen Echo, Maryland
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309:Birds of the Republic of Panama
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516:"Alexander Wetmore, 1886–1978"
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386:American Ornithologists' Union
384:, who became guarantor of the
204:American Philosophical Society
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916:# denotes an acting secretary
577:"Alexander Wetmore in Panama"
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342:Wetmorethraupis sterrhopteron
269:Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
374:Anolis brevirostris wetmorei
289:Pinchot South Sea Expedition
226:George Washington University
208:National Academy of Sciences
151:George Washington University
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559:Wetmore, Alexander (1951).
540:Alexander Wetmore 1886–1978
317:National Geographic Society
291:. In 1939 he was elected a
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860:Robert McCormick Adams Jr.
368:Uromacer frenatus wetmorei
986:Scientists from Wisconsin
820:Charles Doolittle Walcott
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711:February 1, 2016, at the
649:Olson, Storrs L. (1997).
235:Palaeochenoides mioceanus
230:Department of Agriculture
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47:6th Secretary of the
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991:Scientists from Maryland
214:Early life and education
112:North Freedom, Wisconsin
946:American ornithologists
804:Spencer Fullerton Baird
784:Smithsonian Institution
285:Smithsonian Institution
200:Smithsonian Institution
188:Frank Alexander Wetmore
49:Smithsonian Institution
639:. ("Wetmore", p. 283).
545:July 17, 2011, at the
362:Pholidoscelis wetmorei
206:and the United States
828:Charles Greeley Abbot
583:on September 28, 2012
72:Charles Greeley Abbot
852:Sidney Dillon Ripley
470:search.amphilsoc.org
466:"APS Member History"
452:Biographical Memoirs
438:10.1093/auk/97.3.608
221:University of Kansas
140:University of Kansas
609:on February 1, 2016
491:"Alexander Wetmore"
380:In 1953 he married
348:Buthraupis wetmorei
251:, a series of five
241:Nesotrochis debooyi
129:Glen Echo, Maryland
966:Tanager Expedition
868:Ira Michael Heyman
844:Leonard Carmichael
731:Wetmore, Alexander
301:The Explorers Club
253:biological surveys
249:Tanager Expedition
84:Leonard Carmichael
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876:Lawrence M. Small
836:Alexander Wetmore
722:Alexander Wetmore
715:at Smithsonian's
637:978-1-4214-0135-5
495:www.nasonline.org
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122:December 7, 1978
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94:Personal details
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611:. Retrieved
607:the original
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176:Paleontology
124:(1978-12-07)
79:Succeeded by
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941:1978 deaths
936:1886 births
780:Secretaries
613:December 8,
587:December 8,
277:Wake Island
172:Ornithology
67:Preceded by
930:Categories
392:References
328:Cretaceous
194:and avian
105:1886-06-18
742:from the
724:from the
706:Biography
357:Antarctic
333:Alexornis
295:He wrote
168:Known for
136:Education
61:1945–1952
57:In office
886:# (2007)
709:Archived
543:Archived
525:June 21,
500:July 10,
475:July 10,
420:(1980).
338:tanagers
336:and the
322:Several
782:of the
677:4089295
655:The Auk
426:The Auk
355:in the
267:of the
265:geology
910:(2019)
902:(2015)
894:(2008)
878:(2000)
870:(1994)
862:(1984)
854:(1964)
846:(1953)
838:(1944)
830:(1928)
822:(1907)
814:(1887)
806:(1878)
798:(1846)
675:
635:
371:, and
330:genus
305:Panama
131:, U.S.
114:, U.S.
673:JSTOR
261:fauna
257:flora
238:and
633:ISBN
615:2010
589:2010
527:2020
502:2023
477:2023
345:and
324:taxa
275:and
263:and
119:Died
99:Born
663:doi
659:114
434:doi
160:PhD
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
