John Cassin (September 6, 1813 – January 10, 1869) 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 ...

from Pennsylvania. He worked as

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

and vice president at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and focused on the systemic classification of the academy's extensive collection of birds. He was one of the founders of the Delaware County Institute of Science and published several books describing 194 new species of birds. Five species of North American birds, a cicada, and a mineral are named in his honor.

Early life and education

Cassin was born in Upper Providence Township, Pennsylvania on September 6, 1813. He was educated at the Westtown School in Westtown Township, Pennsylvania. His great Uncle,

John Cassin John Cassin (September 6, 1813 – January 10, 1869) was an American ornithology, ornithologist from Pennsylvania. He worked as curator and vice president at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and focused on the systemic classification ...

, was a commodore in the U.S. Navy and served in the War of 1812. He served in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

and was held prisoner in the infamous Confederate

Libby Prison Libby Prison was a Confederate States of America, Confederate prison at Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. In 1862 it was designated to hold officer prisoners from the Union Army, taking in numbers from the nearby Seven Days battl ...

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

Career

Cassin moved to Philadelphia in 1834 and became the head of a lithographing business in which many of his illustrations of birds were later printed. He served for a brief time in the

Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council is the legislative body of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is composed of 17 councilmembers: ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large from throughou ...

. He was a member of the Zoological Society, 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 ...

and the Pennsylvania Historical Society. In 1833, Cassin, along with 4 colleagues, founded the Delaware County Institute of Science in

Media, Pennsylvania Media is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located about west of Philadelphia. It is part of the Delaware Valley, also known as the Philadelphia metropolitan area. ...

. In 1842, he was elected curator of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. From 1846 to 1850, Thomas Bellerby Wilson, a wealthy patron of the academy, became interested in the department of ornithology and procured a collection of over 25,000 birds. The academy had the largest ornithological collection in the United States at the time and included an extensive collection of non-North American species. This exceptional collection of birds allowed Cassin to become the leading ornithological

taxonomist In biology, taxonomy () is the science, scientific study of naming, defining (Circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxon, taxa (si ...

in the world. Cassin worked almost exclusively at the academy, focused on research and the systematic classification of species rather than field work. He described 194 new species of birds and revised a number of families in the academy's publications. His publications include ''Birds of California'', with descriptions and colored engravings of fifty species; ''Synopsis of the Birds of North America''; ''Ornithology of the United States Exploring Expedition''; ''Ornithology of the Japan Expedition''; ''Ornithology of Gillis's Astronomical Expedition to Chile''; and chapters on raptorial birds and waders in ''Ornithology of the Pacific Railroad Explorations and Surveys''. He also co-authored ''Birds of North America'' (1860) with

Spencer Fullerton Baird Spencer Fullerton Baird (; February 3, 1823 – August 19, 1887) was an American naturalist, ornithologist, ichthyologist, Herpetology, herpetologist, and museum curator. Baird was the first curator to be named at the Smithsonian Institution. He ...

and

George Newbold Lawrence George Newbold Lawrence (October 20, 1806 – January 17, 1895) was an American businessman and amateur ornithologist. Early life Lawrence was born in the city of New York on October 20, 1806. From his youth, Lawrence was a lover of birds and sp ...

Specimens collected from the Pacific Railroad Surveys and the Mexican Boundary Surveys were sent to the academy and further supplemented the collection. Cassin helped revise the publications that arose from these surveys. Martha Maxwell was a student of Cassin at the Academy of Natural Sciences from 1862 to 1869. Cassin was elected vice president of the Academy of Natural Sciences in 1864. He died in 1869 of

arsenic poisoning Arsenic poisoning (or arsenicosis) is a medical condition that occurs due to elevated levels of arsenic in the body. If arsenic poisoning occurs over a brief period of time, symptoms may include vomiting, abdominal pain, encephalopathy, and water ...

caused by his handling of bird skins preserved with arsenic. His collection of 4,300 birds was purchased for $500, dollars, by John Whipple Potter Jenks for

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 ' ...

's museum of natural history. He is buried at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery, also called Laurel Hill East to distinguish it from the affiliated West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, Bala Cynwyd, is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls, Philadelphia, East Falls neighborhood ...

in Philadelphia.

Legacy

Five birds from North America are named in his honor: the Cassin's auklet, Cassin's kingbird, Cassin's vireo,

Cassin's sparrow Cassin's sparrow (''Peucaea cassinii'') is a medium-sized sparrow. This passerine bird's range is from western Nebraska to north-central Mexico. Taxonomy The first Cassin's sparrow was described in 1852 by Samuel W. Woodhouse from a specimen ...

, and Cassin's finch. The periodic cicada '' Magicicada cassini '' and the mineral orthoclase variety cassinite are also named for him. In 1901, the journal of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club was renamed Cassinia in his honor.

Bibliography

Catalogue of the caprimulgidae in the Collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1851 *
Illustrations of the Birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British, and Russian America
'. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1856 *
United States Exploring Expedition. During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842. Under the Command of Charles Wilkins, U.S.N.
', Philadelphia, C. Sherman & Son, 1858

References

Citations Sources * * *

External links

Works of John Cassin at the Biodiversity Heritage Library
* Cassin's Sparrow blog a
CassinsSparrow.org
– Long-running science blog that explores the history of Cassin's Sparrow's discovery, what we've learned about the species since, and why it matters. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cassin, John 1813 births 1869 deaths 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American zoologists American bird artists American ornithologists Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Deaths by poisoning Members of the American Philosophical Society People from Delaware County, Pennsylvania People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War Philadelphia City Council members Scientists from Philadelphia Westtown School alumni Upper Providence Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania