Jonathan Dwight by John Adams Whipple 1852

Jonathan Dwight V (1858–1929) was an American

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 ...

Life

Jonathan Dwight was born December 8, 1858 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 ...

. His father was civil engineer Jonathan Dwight (1831–1910), grandfather Jonathan Dwight (1799–1856), great grandfather Jonathan Dwight (1772–1840), and great-great grandfather also named Jonathan Dwight (1743–1831), all part of the large New England Dwight family. His mother was Julia Lawrence Hasbrouck. In 1861 the family moved to

Madison, New Jersey Madison is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 16,937. Located along the Morris & Essex Lines, it is noted for Madison's historic railroad station becoming o ...

. His family had a summer home in Tadoussac, Quebec, and his first paper was published in 1879 on the birds observed there. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1880, and joined his father in railroad design. He enlisted in the New York National Guard in 1889. After serving in the ambulance corps, he developed an interest in medicine. In 1893 he entered the

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) is the graduate medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Founded i ...

. He worked for a while in a hospital and private practice, but over time devoted more time to the study of birds. Dwight was a member 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 ...

since its founding on September 26, 1883. He was treasurer from 1903 to 1920, vice president until 1923, and president to 1926. The American Museum of Natural History provided a room for his collection in 1909. He married Georgina Gertrude Rundle (daughter of Richard Plaskett Rundle) in 1901; she died January 29, 1903. He married Ethel Gordon Wishart Adam in 1914. Obituary read October 22, 1929. He died of cancer at his home at 43 West 70th Street in New York City on February 22, 1929.

Legacy

After Dwight's death,

Fiduciary Trust Company Fiduciary Trust Company is a private wealth management firm headquartered in Boston, Mass United States. It serves high-net-worth families, individuals and nonprofits, as well as professional financial advisors and family offices. The firm ...

founder Carll Tucker purchased Dwight's collection of ornithology books as a gift for his wife

Marcia Brady Tucker Marcia may refer to: People * Marcia (given name) *James Marcia, Canadian psychologist * Stefano Marcia (born 1993), South African Olympic sailor Other uses * ''Marcia'' (Beccafumi), a c. 1519 painting by Domenico Beccafumi * ''Marcia'' (bival ...

, daughter of

Anthony N. Brady Anthony Nicholas Brady (August 22, 1841 – July 22, 1913) was a French-born American businessman who amassed great wealth and at one time was the largest shareholder in the American Tobacco Company. Early life Anthony Nicholas Brady was born on ...

, a founder of

Union Carbide Union Carbide Corporation is an American chemical corporation wholly owned subsidiary (since February 6, 2001) by Dow Chemical Company. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers befor ...

. Marcia Brady Tucker, two-time director of the National Association of Audubon Societies, donated the collection to the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

in 1970.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dwight, Jonathan 1858 births 1929 deaths American ornithologists Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni Harvard University alumni People from Madison, New Jersey People from the Upper West Side Scientists from New York (state)