Olin Sewall Pettingill Jr. | |
---|---|
![]() Sewall Pettingill and wife, Eleanor | |
Born |
Belgrade, Maine, U.S. | October 30, 1907
Died | December 11, 2001
Bedford, Texas, U.S. | (aged 94)
Alma mater |
Bowdoin College Cornell University University of Michigan |
Known for | Ornithology |
Awards | Ludlow Griscom Award, Eisenmann Medal |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Biology |
Institutions | Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology |
Olin Sewall Pettingill Jr. [a] (October 30, 1907 – December 11, 2001) was an American naturalist, author and filmmaker, president of the Wilson Ornithological Society from 1948 to 1950, [2] a member of the board of directors of the National Audubon Society from 1955 to 1974, [1] and a Life Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union. [1]
Born October 30, 1907, in Belgrade, Maine, Pettingill attended Bowdoin College, where he developed an interest in ornithology. [1] Studying under zoologist Alfred O. Gross, Pettingill conducted studies of the last three heath hens on Martha's Vineyard in 1927 with Gross and Thornton Burgess. [1]
In 1928, Pettingill enrolled in the University of Michigan, then attended graduate school at Cornell University starting in 1930 – joining the AOU in the same year – where he conducted a PhD dissertation on the American woodcock. [1]
Appointed a delegate to the 12th and 14th International Ornithological Congresses, [1] Pettingill was appointed Director of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in 1960, a position he held until his retirement in 1973, [1] and provided footage for four Walt Disney nature films, including the Academy Award-winning The Vanishing Prairie, [1] in addition to making several ornithological films of his own, including works on albatrosses, penguins, and the wildlife of island nations, which often aired as part of Audubon Screen Tours. [3]
Tenured at Carleton College for 17 years, [1] Pettingill taught at the University of Michigan Biological Station for 35 years. [1] Pettingill was awarded birding's highest honor, the Ludlow Griscom Award, in 1982, [1] and also received Cornell's Arthur A. Allen Medal in 1974, and the Eisenmann Medal in 1985. [1] Holding three honorary doctorates in science, [1] Pettingill appeared on both The Today Show and To Tell the Truth. [1]
Pettingill died December 11, 2001, in Bedford, Texas, aged 94. [1]
Olin Sewall Pettingill Jr. | |
---|---|
![]() Sewall Pettingill and wife, Eleanor | |
Born |
Belgrade, Maine, U.S. | October 30, 1907
Died | December 11, 2001
Bedford, Texas, U.S. | (aged 94)
Alma mater |
Bowdoin College Cornell University University of Michigan |
Known for | Ornithology |
Awards | Ludlow Griscom Award, Eisenmann Medal |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Biology |
Institutions | Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology |
Olin Sewall Pettingill Jr. [a] (October 30, 1907 – December 11, 2001) was an American naturalist, author and filmmaker, president of the Wilson Ornithological Society from 1948 to 1950, [2] a member of the board of directors of the National Audubon Society from 1955 to 1974, [1] and a Life Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union. [1]
Born October 30, 1907, in Belgrade, Maine, Pettingill attended Bowdoin College, where he developed an interest in ornithology. [1] Studying under zoologist Alfred O. Gross, Pettingill conducted studies of the last three heath hens on Martha's Vineyard in 1927 with Gross and Thornton Burgess. [1]
In 1928, Pettingill enrolled in the University of Michigan, then attended graduate school at Cornell University starting in 1930 – joining the AOU in the same year – where he conducted a PhD dissertation on the American woodcock. [1]
Appointed a delegate to the 12th and 14th International Ornithological Congresses, [1] Pettingill was appointed Director of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in 1960, a position he held until his retirement in 1973, [1] and provided footage for four Walt Disney nature films, including the Academy Award-winning The Vanishing Prairie, [1] in addition to making several ornithological films of his own, including works on albatrosses, penguins, and the wildlife of island nations, which often aired as part of Audubon Screen Tours. [3]
Tenured at Carleton College for 17 years, [1] Pettingill taught at the University of Michigan Biological Station for 35 years. [1] Pettingill was awarded birding's highest honor, the Ludlow Griscom Award, in 1982, [1] and also received Cornell's Arthur A. Allen Medal in 1974, and the Eisenmann Medal in 1985. [1] Holding three honorary doctorates in science, [1] Pettingill appeared on both The Today Show and To Tell the Truth. [1]
Pettingill died December 11, 2001, in Bedford, Texas, aged 94. [1]