George Ord
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George Ord, Jr. (March 4, 1781 – January 24, 1866) was an American
zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...
who specialized in North American
ornithology 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
mammalogy In zoology, mammalogy is the study of mammals – a class of vertebrates with characteristics such as homeothermic metabolism, fur, four-chambered hearts, and complex nervous systems. The archive of number of mammals on earth is constantly growi ...
. Based in part on specimens collected by
Lewis and Clark Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...
in the North American interior, Ord's article "Zoology of North America''"'' (1815), which was published in the second American edition of William Guthrie's ''Geographical, Historical, and Commercial Grammar'' (Johnson and Warner), has been recognized as the "first systematic zoology of America by an American". Ord (1815) published the first scientific descriptions of Pronghorn antelope (''Antilocapra americana''),
Grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...
(''Ursus arctos horribilis'')'','' Meadow vole (''Microtus pennsylvanicus''), Bushy-tailed woodrat (''Neotoma cinerea''), Eastern gray squirrel (''Sciurus carolinensis pennsylvanicus''),
Columbian ground squirrel The Columbian ground squirrel (''Urocitellus columbianus'') is a species of rodent common in certain regions of Canada and the northwestern United States. It is the second largest member of the genus ''Urocitellus'', which is part of the tribe Ma ...
(''Urocitellus columbianus''),
black-tailed prairie dog The black-tailed prairie dog (''Cynomys ludovicianus'') is a rodent of the family Sciuridae (the squirrels) found in the Great Plains of North America from about the United States–Canada border to the United States–Mexico border. Unlike some ...
(''Cynomys ludovicianus''), Bonaparte's gull (''Chroicocephalus philadelphia''), ring-billed gull (''Larus delawarensis''), Tundra swan (''Cygnus columbianus''), and Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (''Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus''). Ord is widely known for challenging the works of
John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin, April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-American Autodidacticism, self-trained artist, natural history, naturalist, and ornithology, ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornitho ...
.


Early life

Ord was born and died at the same residence, 784 Front St., in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. His mother was Swedish, and his father, Captain George Ord, Sr. (1741–1806), a celebrated naval captain during the American Revolution, was the proprietor of a rope-making business and served as Warden of the
Port of Philadelphia The port of Philadelphia is located on the Delaware River in Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. ''Port of Philadelphia'' generally refers to the publicly owned marine terminals located within Philadelphia city limits along the west b ...
. Ord joined the family business and continued it after his father's death.


''American Ornithology''

Ord met Alexander Wilson in the summer of 1811, and accompanied him on two collecting expeditions (each four weeks duration) to
Cape May, New Jersey Cape May (sometimes Cape May City) is a City (New Jersey), city and seaside resort located at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Located on the Atlantic Ocean ...
, during the spring migration seasons of May 1812 and May 1813. During the 1812 trip, Ord collected a bird that neither he nor Wilson could identify. Wilson illustrated Ord's specimen and named it "Cape May Warbler / ''Sylvia maritima''" in volume 6 of ''American Ornithology'' (1812), writing:
"This new and beautiful little species was discovered in a maple swamp, in Cape May county, not far from the coast, by Mr. George Ord of this city, who accompanied me on a shooting excursion to that quarter in the month of May last. Through the zeal and activity of this gentleman I succeeded in procuring many rare and elegant birds among the sea islands and extensive salt marshes that border that part of the Atlantic ; and much interesting information relative to their nests, eggs, and particular habits. I have also at various times been favored with specimens of other birds from the same friend, for all which I return my grateful acknowledgments."
The letter-press for volume 8 of ''American Ornithology'' (1814) was complete by August 1813, but Wilson's "great anxiety to conclude the work, condemned him to an excess of toil, which, inflexible as was his mind, his bodily frame was unable to bear." Wilson died of complications from
dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...
on August 23, 1813; one week earlier, he named Ord an executor of his "
last Will and testament A will and testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property (estate (law), estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the property until its fi ...
". After Wilson's death, Ord completed the publishing and distribution, and compiled Wilson's unpublished writings for a final (9th) volume which contained an extended "Biographical sketch of Alexander Wilson". Ord published a second edition of ''American Ornithology'' in 1824–25. The first 6 volumes were faithful reprints of the originals, confusingly so because they bear the dates of the first editions on their title pages (1808–12). In contrast, volumes 7–9 were revised and expanded by Ord and included a much larger version of his "Life of Wilson" (198 pp., versus 36 pages in the original 1814 version).


Academic life

In 1815, Ord was elected to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP), where he would later serve as vice president from (1816–34) and president (1851–58). He became a member of the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
in 1817, and later served as secretary (1820–27), vice president (1832–35), councilor (1839), treasurer (1842–47), and librarian (1842–48). In 1817, he joined the "first private, museum sponsored exploration in the United States", when he,
Thomas Say Thomas Say (June 27, 1787 – October 10, 1834) was an American entomologist, conchologist, and Herpetology, herpetologist. His studies of insects and shells, numerous contributions to scientific journals, and scientific expeditions to Florida, Ge ...
, Titian Ramsay Peale and
William Maclure William Maclure (27 October 176323 March 1840) was an Americanized Scottish geologist, cartographer and philanthropist. He is known as the 'father of American geology'. As a social experimenter on new types of community life, he collaborated w ...
went on a collecting expedition to Georgia and Florida, sponsored by the ANSP. Ord, a supporter of scientific
peer review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (:wiktionary:peer#Etymology 2, peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the ...
, frequently served on ANSP publications committees, reviewing the work of his peers.Archives of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. Collection 292: Publication Committee. Papers, 1821–1939. https://ansp.org/research/library/archives/0200-0299/coll0292/ He was a reviewer of three influential papers authored by
Charles Lucien Bonaparte Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857) was a French naturalist and ornithology, ornithologist, and a nephew of Napoleon. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal ...
in 1824 and 1825, which included the original taxonomic descriptions of
Wilson's Storm Petrel Wilson's storm petrel (''Oceanites oceanicus''), also known as Wilson's petrel, is a small seabird of the austral storm petrel family Oceanitidae. It is one of the most abundant bird species in the world and has a circumpolar distribution mainly ...
(''Procellaria Wilsonii'') in 1824, and Transvolcanic Jay (''Aphelocoma ultramarina''), and Yellow-winged Cacique (''Cassiculus melanicterus'') in 1825. In 1829 he retired from the rope-making business to devote more time to science. Ord authored peer-reviewed articles on a wide variety of topics including feather molt, the mating behavior of the
Eastern Box Turtle The eastern box turtle (''Terrapene carolina carolina'') is a subspecies within a group of hinge-shelled turtles normally called box turtles. ''T. c. carolina'' is native to the Eastern United States. The eastern box turtle is a subspec ...
(''Terrapene carolina carolina''), and the taxonomy of the
Florida Scrub Jay The Florida scrub jay (''Aphelocoma coerulescens'') is one of the species of scrub jay native to North America. It is the only species of bird endemic to the U.S. state of Florida and one of only 15 species endemic to the continental United Stat ...
(''Aphelocoma coerulescens''). His publication about "An account of an American species of the genus ''Tantalus'' or Ibis" (1817) was the first account of the
Glossy Ibis The glossy ibis (''Plegadis falcinellus'') is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek ''plegados'' and Latin, ''falcis'', both meaning "sickle" a ...
(''Plegadis falcinellus'') in the United States, as noted by Bonaparte in his quasi-continuation of Wilson's ''American Ornithology'' (1833):
"The credit of having added this beautiful species 'Plegadis falcinellus''to the fauna of the United States is due to Mr. Ord, the well known friend and biographer of Wilson, who several years ago gave a good history and minute description of it in the Journal of the Academy of Philadelphia, under the name ''Tantalus mexicanus''? His excellent memoir would have been sufficient to establish its identity with the species found so extensively in the old world, even if the specimen itself, carefully preserved in the Philadelphia Museum, did not place this beyond the possibility of doubt."
Ord was a vocal opponent of
John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin, April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-American Autodidacticism, self-trained artist, natural history, naturalist, and ornithology, ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornitho ...
. He also wrote biographical memoirs of
Charles Alexandre Lesueur Charles Alexandre Lesueur (; 1 January 1778 in Le Havre – 12 December 1846 in Le Havre) was a French Natural history, naturalist, artist, and explorer. He was a prolific natural-history collector, gathering many type specimens in Australia ...
, published in 1849, and
Thomas Say Thomas Say (June 27, 1787 – October 10, 1834) was an American entomologist, conchologist, and Herpetology, herpetologist. His studies of insects and shells, numerous contributions to scientific journals, and scientific expeditions to Florida, Ge ...
, published in 1859, that have been valuable sources of information for modern scholars.


Death and Burial

Ord died on January 23, 1866, and is buried in a family plot at Gloria Dei Church cemetery.


Published works

* Ord, G. 1817. Account of a North American quadruped, supposed to belong to the genus Ovis. ''Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 1(1), 8–12. * Ord, G. 1817. An account of an American species of the genus ''Tantalus'' or Ibis. ''Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 1(4), 53–57.
BHL link
* Ord, G. 1818. Observations on two species of the genus ''Gracula'' of Latham. ''Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 1(7), 253–260. (Read May 19, 1818)
BHL link
* Ord, G. 1818. An account of the Florida Jay of Bartram. ''Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' 1(7), 345–347. (Read May 26, 1818)
BHL link
* Ord, G. 1828. ''Sketch of the life of Alexander Wilson, author of the American Ornithology''. Harrison Hall, Philadelphia. (Google Books link) * Ord, G. 1830. Some observations on the moulting of birds. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society new series 3, 292–299. (Read March 7, 1828)
BHL link


References


External links

* Reprint from Southwark Historical Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Ord, George 1781 births 1866 deaths American ornithologists American people of English descent American people of Swedish descent Writers from Philadelphia Members of the American Philosophical Society Burials at Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church