Dean Arthur Amadon (June 5, 1912 – January 12, 2003) was an American

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

and an authority on birds of prey. Amadon was born in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

to Arthur and Mary Amadon. He received a BS from Hobart College in 1934 and a Ph.D. from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1947. In 1937 he joined the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and was Chairman of the Department of Ornithology there from 1957 until 1973. In 1942, he married Octavia Gardella and had two daughters: Susan Avis and Emily Yvonne. Dean Amadon 1958

Amadon was a member of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

, president of the

American Ornithologists' Union The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its ...

from 1964 to 1966 and

Linnaean Society of New York The Linnaean Society of New York (LSNY) was established in 1878, in the city of New York, United States of America, by a group of amateurs interested in natural science, especially ornithology. The founding members included H.P. Bailey, Eugene Pi ...

. He joined The Explorers Club in 1959. His books include ''Birds Around the World: A Geographical Look at Evolution and Birds'' (1966), ''Eagles, Hawks and Falcons of the World'' (1968) with Leslie H. Brown, and ''Curassows and Related Birds'' (1973) with Jean Delacour (2nd edition, 2004). He died on January 12, 2003, in his home at 25 Kenwood Road,

Tenafly, New Jersey Tenafly () is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 15,409, an increase of 921 (+6.4%) from the 2010 census count of 14,488, which in turn reflected an ...

.Saxon, Wolfgang
"Dean Amadon, an Authority On Birds of Prey, Dies at 90"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', January 15, 2003. Accessed May 11, 2017. "Dean Amadon, a renowned authority on birds of prey and former Lamont curator of birds at the American Museum of Natural History, died Sunday at his home in Tenafly, N.J."

References

Sources

* * * http://www.wku.edu/~smithch/chronob/AMAD1912.htm 1912 births 2003 deaths American ornithologists Cornell University alumni Fellows of the Linnean Society of London People associated with the American Museum of Natural History People from Tenafly, New Jersey 20th-century American zoologists {{US-ornithologist-stub