Robert Ridgway
|
|
Ridgway_Robert_1850-1929.jpg
Robert Ridgway (July 2, 1850 - March 25, 1929) was an American ornithologist.
Born in Mount Carmel, Illinois, Ridgway was a protege of zoologist Spencer Fullerton Baird, who, on becoming the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, appointed Ridgway the first full-time curator of birds at the U.S. National Museum. He served from 1880 until his death in 1929. Ridgway also conceived the first color system for bird identification. Ornithologists all over the world continue to cite Ridgway.
Ridgway was the joint author (with Thomas Mayo Brewer and Spencer Fullerton Baird) of History of North American Birds (Boston, 1875-1884; Land Birds, 3 vols., Water Birds, 2 vols).
Birds named for Ridgway include the Ridgway's Whip-Poor-Will Caprimulgus ridgwayi and the Aztec Thrush Ridgwayia pinicola.