Herbert Axelrod
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Herbert Richard Axelrod (June 7, 1927 – May 15, 2017) was an American
tropical fish Tropical fish are fish found in aquatic tropical environments around the world. Fishkeepers often keep tropical fish in freshwater and saltwater aquariums. The term "tropical fish" is not a taxonomic group, but rather is a general term for f ...
expert, a publisher of pet books, and an entrepreneur. In 2005 he was sentenced in U.S. court to 18 months in prison for
tax fraud Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trust (property), trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax au ...
.


Early life

Axelrod was born to a Jewish family in New Jersey, the son of immigrant parents from Russia. His father was a mathematics and violin teacher, and his mother was a civilian employee of the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...
.


Aquatics and publishing

While serving in an Army MASH unit in Korea, he wrote his book ''The Handbook of Tropical Aquarium Fishes'', which eventually sold more than one million copies. After returning from Korea, Axelrod earned a Ph.D. in
mathematics education In contemporary education, mathematics education—known in Europe as the didactics or pedagogy of mathematics—is the practice of teaching, learning, and carrying out Scholarly method, scholarly research into the transfer of mathematical know ...
at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
and started the magazine ''
Tropical Fish Hobbyist ''Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''TFH Magazine'') is a bimonthly magazine for hobbyist keepers of tropical fish, with news and information on a variety of topics concerning freshwater and marine aquariums. The magazine was fir ...
''. He wrote many other books on tropical fish and founded a
publishing firm Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
,
TFH Publications TFH Publications is an American book publisher based in New Jersey. It specializes in books about pets. In 1997 the owner, Herbert R. Axelrod sold the company to Central Garden & Pet Company of California for $70 million. Its publications incl ...
(named for the magazine) that became the largest publisher of pet books in the world. TFH Publications was headquartered first in
Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous
, and then in Neptune, New Jersey. ''The New York Times'' has written that "his importance was undeniable. In an era before web forums and Google, collectors turned to ''Tropical Fish Hobbyist'' and Axelrod's dozens of books". In 1956, Leonard P. Schultz described the cardinal tetra, a popular
aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
fish, and gave it its
scientific name In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...
, ''Paracheirodon axelrodi'', which honors Axelrod. Although the fish had been discovered in Brazil in 1953 by Harald Sioli, a discus collector, Axelrod claimed that he had made the discovery himself during a steamboat trip on the Rio Negro, and he sent fish that he purchased from a dealer in New Jersey to the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
, where the species was identified. In 1989, Axelrod donated his collection of fossil fish to the
University of Guelph The University of Guelph (abbreviated U of G) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald I ...
, which the university says is one of the largest donations by an individual to a Canadian university. The Axelrod Institute of Ichthyology at that university was named for him. The University of Guelph also named a lecture hall after him, the Axelrod Building, but in 2010 renamed it the Alexander Building, after
Lincoln Alexander Lincoln MacCauley Alexander (January 21, 1922 – October 19, 2012) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who became the first Black Canadian to be a Member of Parliament (Canada), member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada, House o ...
. In 1997 Axelrod sold TFH Publications to Central Garden & Pet Company of California for $70 million. The contract included potential payouts to Axelrod if TFH reached earnings targets after the sale. He sued under that provision, accusing Central Garden of suppressing earnings to avoid paying the extra money. The following year, however, the purchaser filed a countersuit against him, claiming that he had grossly and illegally inflated the value of the company before the purchase. On September 1, 2005, Axelrod was ordered to pay Central Garden & Pet Company $16.4 million (net, after deducting $3.7 million the company was ordered to pay Axelrod due to earnings targets).


Musical instruments collection

Axelrod, a violinist himself, assembled a large collection of old and rare
stringed instruments In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners. Musicians play som ...
, including the
Hellier Stradivarius The ''Hellier Stradivarius'' of ''c.'' 1679 is a violin made by Antonio Stradivari of Cremona, Italy. It derives its name from the Hellier family, who might well have bought it directly from the luthier himself. Ownership The ''Hellier Stradivar ...
. In 1975 he bought his first
Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and guitars, crafted by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), in Cremona, Italy, during the late 17th ...
violin. In 1998 he donated four Stradivari instruments — two violins, a viola and a cello — to the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
. Known as the
Axelrod quartet Axelrod or Akselrod (variant: Axelrad) is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Albert Axelrod (1921–2004), American Olympic medalist foil fencer * Barry Axelrod (born 1946), American sports agent * Beth Axelrod, American execut ...
, their value was estimated at $50 million. In February 2003 he sold about 30 other instruments to the
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra The New Jersey Symphony, formerly the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), is an American symphony orchestra based in the state of New Jersey. The New Jersey Symphony is the state orchestra of New Jersey, performing classical subscription concer ...
(NJSO) for $18 million. This collection was estimated to be worth $49 million. (Axelrod was a long-time supporter of the NJSO.)


Further legal difficulties

Questions surfaced about the value of the instruments he had donated to the Smithsonian and the NJSO. Although the instruments were all old and valuable, several unnamed experts determined them not to be the instruments he represented them as, and not to be as valuable as he claimed. He was said to have invented histories for the instruments to explain away doubts or to increase their worth. In an unrelated case, Axelrod was indicted in federal court in New Jersey on April 13, 2004, accused of funneling millions of dollars into Swiss bank accounts over 20 years without paying taxes. The following April 21, he failed to appear for his arraignment, having fled to Cuba. He was arrested in Berlin on June 15, 2004, as he got off a plane from Switzerland, and then extradited to the United States. On March 21, 2005 he was sentenced in U.S. court to 18 months in prison for tax fraud.


Legacy

For his philanthropy, the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
named Axelrod their 1999 Donor of the Year. ''
Axelrodia ''Axelrodia'' is a genus of small characin from the Amazon Basin and Meta River in South America, with two currently described species: * '' Axelrodia riesei'' Géry, 1966 (ruby tetra) * '' Axelrodia stigmatias'' ( Fowler, 1913) ;Synonyms *''Axel ...
'', a genus of
characin Characiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, comprising the characins and their allies. Grouped in 18 recognized families, more than 2000 different species are described, including the well-known piranha and tetras.; Buckup P.A.: "Relationsh ...
from South America, is named for him."Obituary: Dr. Herbert R. Axelrod"
''Practical Fishkeeping'', 30 May 2017. Archived 20 June 2017.
A number of fish species are also named for him, including *The cardinal tetra ''
Paracheirodon axelrodi The cardinal tetra (''Paracheirodon axelrodi'') is a freshwater fish of the family (biology), family Characidae of order (biology), order Characiformes. It is native to the upper Orinoco and Rio Negro (Amazon), Negro Rivers in South America. Gro ...
'' ( L. P. Schultz, 1956), *The Trinidad tetra '' Hyphessobrycon axelrodi'' ( Travassos, 1959), *The black neon tetra '' Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi''
Géry Géry () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Meuse department The following is a list of the 499 Communes of France, communes of the Meuse (department), Meuse Departments of ...
, 1961
, *The pink corydoras catfish '' Corydoras axelrodi'' Rössel, 1962, *The African fish ''
Neolebias axelrodi ''Neolebias'' is a genus of small distichodontid freshwater fishes found in Africa. Species There currently 12 recognized species: * ''Neolebias ansorgii'' Boulenger, 1912 * '' Neolebias axelrodi'' Poll & J. P. Gosse, 1963 * '' Neolebias g ...
''
Poll Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Forms of voting and counting * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling pla ...
& J. P. Gosse, 1963
, *The South American characin ''
Schultzites axelrodi ''Schultzites'' is a genus of freshwater fish in the family Characidae. It contains the single species ''Schultzites axelrodi'', which is endemism, endemic to Colombia, where it is found in the upper Meta River basin. ''Schultzites'' Jacques Gé ...
''
Géry Géry () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Meuse department The following is a list of the 499 Communes of France, communes of the Meuse (department), Meuse Departments of ...
, 1964
which is in a genus all by itself, *The South American characin ''
Brittanichthys axelrodi ''Brittanichthys'' is a genus of characins endemism, endemic to the Rio Negro (Amazon), Rio Negro basin in South America. The currently described species are: * ''Brittanichthys axelrodi'' Jacques Géry, Géry, 1965 * ''Brittanichthys myersi'' G ...
''
Géry Géry () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Meuse department The following is a list of the 499 Communes of France, communes of the Meuse (department), Meuse Departments of ...
, 1965
, *The Southeast Asian ''
Sundadanio axelrodi ''Sundadanio axelrodi'' is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Sundadanionidae, the tiny danios. This fish is known only from Bintan Island in the Riau Islands east of Sumatra. Originally described as a rasbora, ''Ras ...
'' ( Brittan, 1976), is a
danionin The danionins are a group of small, minnow-type fish belonging to the family Danionidae. Species of this group are in the genera clades ''Danio'' and ''Devario'' (which also includes ''Chela'', ''Laubuka'', ''Microdevario'', and ''Microrasbora'' ...
in the family
Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family, including the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives the barbs and barbels, among others. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family, and t ...
, with origin from Borneo, Bangka, and Sumatra. *The Lake Malawi cichlid ''
Cynotilapia axelrodi ''Cynotilapia axelrodi'' is a species haplochromine cichlid which is endemic to Lake Malawi where it occurs in Nkhata Bay and Chirombo Point, Malawi. Etymology The specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a sys ...
'' W. E. Burgess, 1976, *The rainbowfish '' Chilatherina axelrodi'' G. R. Allen, 1979, *The mawsoniid '' Axelrodichthys spp.'' John G. Maisey, 1986, *The blenny ''
Ecsenius axelrodi ''Ecsenius axelrodi'', known commonly as the Axelrod's clown blenny or the Axelrod's combtooth blenny, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Blenniidae, the combtooth blennies. It is found in shallow water on coral reefs in the western c ...
'' V. G. Springer, 1988, *The marine fish ''
Pseudogramma axelrodi ''Pseudogramma'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fish, related to the groupers and classified within the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae. They live on coral reefs and exhibit cryptic colors and patterns to conceal them. They are ...
'' G. R. Allen & D. R. Robertson, 1995, *The Lake Tebera rainbowfish ''
Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodi The Lake Tebera rainbowfish (''Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodi'') is a species of rainbowfish in the subfamily Melanotaeniinae which is endemic to the Lake Tebera basin in Papua New Guinea. The specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database ...
'' G. R. Allen, 1981, *The cichlid '' Parananochromis axelrodi'' Lamboj & Stiassny, 2003, *The African ''
Labeobarbus axelrodi ''Labeobarbus axelrodi'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family, including the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives the barbs and ...
'' (Getahun, Stiassny & Teugels, 2004), and * A tube-snouted ghost knifefish '' Sternarchorhynchus axelrodi'' de Santana &
Vari Vari () is a southern suburb of Athens and former municipality in East Attica, Greece along the Athens coast. The ancient Athenian deme of Anagyrous was situated here. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Vari-Vo ...
, 2010
. The fish '' Corydoras narcissus'' was first collected by Axelrod and Martin Brittan and subsequently described by
Han Nijssen Han Nijssen (1935– 2013)H. Nijssen, 1935 -
at the UvA Album academicum
was a Dutch
Isaäc J. H. Isbrücker, who named it ''narcissus'' to recognize the collectors "for their many naming suggestions".


Selected publications

*''Handbook of Tropical Aquarium Fishes'', McGraw-Hill, 1955. *''Saltwater Aquarium Fishes'', TFH Publications, 1987. *''Lovebirds As a New Pet'', TFH Publications, 1990. *''Swordtails and Platies'', TFH Publications, 1991. *''African Cichlids of Lakes Malawi and Tanganyika'', TFH Publications, 1988. *''Aquarium Fishes of the World'', TFH Publications, 1998. *''Dr. Axelrod's Atlas of Freshwater Aquarium Fishes'', TFH Publications, 2004.


Taxa described by him

*See :Taxa named by Herbert R. Axelrod


See also

*'' Corydoras narcissus''


References


External links


University of Guelph Axelrod Institute of Ichthyology


(2004 interview in Havana by Brian Donohue of the New Jersey ''Star-Ledger'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Axelrod, Herbert R 1927 births 2017 deaths American publishers (people) American ichthyologists 20th-century American Jews American people convicted of tax crimes People from Bayonne, New Jersey 21st-century American Jews Fishkeeping Scientists from New Jersey 20th-century American zoologists