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Eugene "Gene" Eisenmann (19 February 1906 – 16 October 1981) was an American and
Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
nian
lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...
and amateur
ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...
of
German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...
ancestry. He had a long association with the
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 Pint ...
(LSNY) as well as with 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 ...
(AOU) and the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). He was an expert on
Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bi ...
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
s.


Biography

Eisenmann was born in Panama and, though he was based throughout his adult life in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
, he returned to Panama almost annually in order to study the birdlife and visit his family. He was bilingual in English and Spanish. He received a law degree from
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...
in 1930 and was a partner in the New York law firm of
Proskauer Rose Proskauer Rose LLP (formerly known as Proskauer, Rose, Goetz & Mendelsohn, LLP) is an international law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1875 and currently employs more than 800 attorneys in twelve offices worldwide. ...
until 1956.


Ornithology

Eisenmann served as President of the LSNY from 1947 to 1949, and was later elected a
Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...
. In 1956, he resigned from the legal profession to pursue his interest in studying the birds of Central America and the adjacent region. The following year, he became a Research Associate of the AMNH, a position he held until his death. He was editor of the AOU's journal ''
The Auk ''Ornithology'', formerly ''The Auk'' and ''The Auk: Ornithological Advances'', is a peer-reviewed scientific journal and the official publication of the American Ornithological Society (AOS). It was established in 1884 and is published quarterly. ...
'' in 1958–59, vice president of the AOU in 1967–69, and chairman of the AOU's Check-list Committee from 1966 until his death. He was a member of the
International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 26 commissioners from 20 countries. Orga ...
. He published over 150 papers on ornithology, and his ''The Species of Middle American Birds'' is Volume 7 of the ''Transactions'' of the LSNY. He also co-wrote ''The Species of Birds of South America'' with
Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee (January 4, 1901 – April 24, 1984) was an American ornithologist. He was born in Rome, Italy to a Swiss aristocratic family. His family moved to the United States in 1913. He was the curator of ornithology at the Ac ...
.


Legacy

Following Eisenmann's death from a heart attack in 1981, the LSNY established the
Eisenmann Medal The Eisenmann Medal is awarded by the Linnaean Society of New York (LSNY) in recognition of the recipient's ornithological excellence and encouragement of amateur efforts in ornithology and birding. The medal commemorates the ornithologist and pr ...
, an award to recognise ornithological excellence and encourage amateur ornithologists, with the inaugural award being made to
Ernst Mayr Ernst Walter Mayr (; 5 July 1904 – 3 February 2005) was one of the 20th century's leading evolutionary biologists. He was also a renowned taxonomist, tropical explorer, ornithologist, philosopher of biology, and historian of science. His w ...
in 1983. In 2000 the Fundación Avifauna Eugene Eisenmann (Eugene Eisenmann Bird Foundation) was established in Panama by a group of Panamanian and American bird lovers with the mission of protecting Panama's birds and their habitats. In 2003 it obtained a 20 ha concession at Pipeline Road in central Panama for the construction of the Panama Rainforest Discovery Center in the
Soberanía National Park Soberanía National Park (''Parque Nacional Soberanía'') is a national park in Panama near the banks of the Panama Canal in the provinces of Panamá and Colón, some from Panama City. The Chagres River runs through the park. Established as a ...
.


References


Further reading

*"Eugene Eisenmann," in Tom Taylor and Michael Taylor, ''Aves: A Survey of the Literature of Neotropical Ornithology'', Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Libraries, 2011.


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eisenmann, Eugene 20th-century American zoologists 1906 births 1981 deaths American ornithologists Harvard Law School alumni Jewish American scientists Panamanian emigrants to the United States Panamanian Jews Panamanian ornithologists Panamanian people of German-Jewish descent People associated with the American Museum of Natural History Proskauer Rose partners 20th-century American Jews