Herbert Friedmann (April 22, 1900 – May 14, 1987) 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 ...

. He worked at 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 ...

for more than 30 years. In 1929 he became a fellow 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 ...

(AOU) and served as the President of the AOU from 1937 to 1939. He published 17 books and was noted for study of Avian brood parasites.

Early life and education

Herbert Friedmann grew up in Brooklyn, New York, the second of four sons. Young Friedman took advantage of educational and cultural opportunities offered in

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 ...

, regularly visiting museums and taking advantage of standing room at the city's centers for performing arts. The Museum of Natural History, the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

and the

Bronx Zoo The Bronx Zoo (also historically the Bronx Zoological Park and the Bronx Zoological Gardens) is a zoo within Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. It is one of the largest zoos in the United States by area and the largest Metropolis, metropol ...

were among his favorite destinations. He joined a bird club during his high school years and kept detailed notes on birds that he observed. He continued to study birds after entering the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

at 16 years old and maintained a close association with the Museum of Natural History. While attending City College, Friedmann studied the "Weaving of the Red-Billed Weaver Bird in Captivity" at the

. That study was later published in ''Zoologica'' 2(16):355-72, his first published article. Dr. William Beebe, then Honorary Curator of Birds and Director of the Department of Tropical Research at the zoo, was impressed by the work and encouraged Friedmann to apply for a scholarship to

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 ...

. He got the scholarship and completed his PhD in three years. His dissertation was on

brood parasitism Brood parasitism is a subclass of parasitism and phenomenon and behavioural pattern of animals that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite manipulates a host, either of the ...

cowbird Cowbirds are birds belonging to the genus ''Molothrus'' in the family Icteridae. They are of New World origin, but some species not native to North America are invasive there, and are obligate brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of o ...

Career

Postgraduate work

After graduation in 1923, Friedmann taught a summer course for the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. For the next three years, he spent most of his time in South America and Africa studying parasitic birds on a postdoctoral grant from the National Research Council and

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

. He taught courses at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

in 1925–1926 and at

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

in 1927–1929.

Smithsonian museums

In September 1929, Friedmann was appointed curator of birds at the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. With 4.4 ...

and continued to serve in that position until he was appointed as head curator of zoology in 1959.

Awards

In 1955 Friedmann was awarded the

Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal The Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "for meritorious work in zoology or paleontology study published in a three to five year period." Named after Daniel Giraud Elliot, it was first awarded in 1917. L ...

from the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

for his book, ''The Honey Guides''. Friedmann was also awarded the

Leidy Award The Leidy Award is a medal and prize presented by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was named after US palaeontologist Joseph Leidy. ...

by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia that same year. The

awarded the William Brewster Memorial Award to Friedmann in 1964 for "an exceptional body of work on birds of the Western Hemisphere."

References

External links

National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedmann, Herbert American ornithologists Scientists from Brooklyn 1900 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American zoologists Scientists from New York (state)