Robert Ridgway
American ornithologist (1850-1929) · United States · On the map · Scientists · Died at 78
Robert Ridgway was an American ornithologist specializing in systematics. He was appointed in 1880 by Spencer Fullerton Baird, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to be the first full-time curator of birds at the United States National Museum, a title he held until his death.
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Photos 5
Portrait in Bird Lore 1903
Ridgway (right) with D. G. Elliot and A. K. Fisher in Alaska, 1899
Grave marker of Robert Ridgway at Bird Haven
A chromolithograph of a bald eagle by Robert Ridgway, from A. K. Fisher's The hawks and owls of the United States in their relation to agriculture (US Dept of Agriculture, 1893)Awards
About this person
In 1883, he helped found the American Ornithologists' Union, where he served as officer and journal editor. Ridgway was an outstanding descriptive taxonomist, capping his life work with The Birds of North and Middle America. In his lifetime, he was unmatched in the number of North American bird species that he described for science. As technical illustrator, Ridgway used his own paintings and outline drawings to complement his writing. He also published two books that systematized color names for describing birds, A Nomenclature of Colors for Naturalists (1886) and Color Standards and Color Nomenclature (1912). Ornithologists all over the world continue to cite Ridgway's color studies and books.
