Edward Alphonso Goldman (July 7, 1873 – September 2, 1946) was an American

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

and botanist. He worked extensively in

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

with

Edward William Nelson Edward William Nelson (May 8, 1855 – May 19, 1934) was an American naturalist and ethnologist. A collector of specimens and field naturalist of repute, he became a member of several expeditions to survey the fauna and flora. He was part o ...

and described and revised many groups of mammals. He was born Edward Alphonso Goltman in Mount Carroll, Illinois, on July 7, 1873, to French-German American parents Jacob H. and Laura C. Goltman. They were originally from Pennsylvania before moving to Illinois, then to Nebraska, where Jacob changed the surname to Goldman, and finally California. There, Jacob, who had an interest in natural history, met naturalist

, who was looking for an assistant, around 1891. Young Edward became this assistant, beginning a friendship and professional relationship with Nelson that was to last until the latter's death.Young, 1947, pp. 91–92. Goldman did well on their first joint collecting trip in California, which ended in January 1892, and then set out for Mexico with Nelson for a three-month trip. In fact, they stayed for four years, beginning an acquaintance with Mexico that would take them to almost every corner of the country and result in the collection of over 20,000 mammal specimens. He met Emma May Chase in 1901, and married her the next year, the marriage producing three sons. While in the United States, Goldman performed many other functions, and during World War I he was a major in the U.S. Armed Forces in France working on rodent control. After being released from administrative duties in 1928, he was able to devote all his time to scientific study and he continued even after his 1944 retirement. Goldman collected his last mammal on April 4, 1946—a Florida pocket gopher.Young, 1947, p. 93. He continued to work on Mexican mammals until he had a stroke on August 30, 1946; he died on September 2, 1946 and was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

on September 6.Young, 1947, p. 101. Goldman published 206 papers during his lifetime and described over 300 new mammals. In 1941, he had described more new mammals than any other living scientist. Many animals were named after him, including various mammals, some birds, a lizard ('' Sceloporus goldmani'' ), a snake, a turtle, a frog, and a mollusk. There is even a Goldman Peak in

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

.Young, 1947, p. 100. In 1946, he became the President of the

American Society of Mammalogists The American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to encourage the study of mammals, and professions studying them. There are over 4,500 members of this society, and they are primarily professional scientists ...

. Goldman was also a strong proponent of exterminating large predators such as wolves and coyotes and was instrumental in promoting programs to that end via the Bureau of Biological Survey. He is credited with describing the coyote as the "archpredator of our time".

References

Literature cited

* Young, Stanley P. (1947)
"Edward Alphonso Goldman: 1873–1946"
(subscription required). ''Journal of Mammalogy'' 28 (2): 91–109.

References

Literature cited

Further reading