Paul Henry Oehser (27 March 1904, Cherry Creek, New York – 4 December 1996,

Boone, North Carolina Boone is a town in and the county seat of Watauga County, North Carolina, United States. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, Boone is the home of Appalachian State University and the headquarters for the disaster a ...

) was a writer of three books and an editor of scientific publications. Oehser graduated in 1925 from

Greenville College Greenville University is a private university in Greenville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the Free Methodist Church. Established as Greenville College in 1892, the institution was renamed Greenville University in 2017. History In 1855, Stephe ...

in Illinois. Soon after graduation he moved to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

to work for the Bureau of Biological Survey as an assistant scientific editor. Beginning in 1931 he was an editor working for the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

and in 1950 became director of the Institution's Editorial and Publications Division. From 1951 to 1966 he continued as director but also served as the Smithsonian Institution's public relations officer. He retired from the Institution in 1966 and then worked from 1966 to 1975 for the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, an ...

as an editor of scientific reports. He was on the Wilderness Society's Governing Council. At various times he was secretary, bulletin editor, and president of the

Cosmos Club The Cosmos Club is a 501(c)(7) private social club in Washington, D.C. that was founded by John Wesley Powell in 1878 as a gentlemen's club for those interested in science. Among its stated goals is, "The advancement of its members in science, ...

. He was president of the Washington Biologists’ Field Club from 1964 to 1967. He had a wife and two sons.

Selected publications

as editor

* ** * 16 volumes 1967–68; juvenile audience. *

as author

*. * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oehser, Paul Henry American print editors American science journalists American male journalists People from Chautauqua County, New York 1904 births 1996 deaths 20th-century American non-fiction writers Journalists from New York (state) 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American journalists