Aaron Ludwig Kumlien (March 15, 1853 – December 4, 1902) was an American ornithologist and the oldest son of

Thure Kumlien Thure Ludwig Theodor Kumlien (November 9, 1819 – August 5, 1888) was a Swedish-American ornithologist, naturalist, and taxidermist. A contemporary of Henry David Thoreau, Thoreau, John James Audubon, Audubon, and Louis Agassiz, Agassiz, he cont ...

. He took part in the Howgate Polar Expedition 1877-78 and collected a large number of bird specimens which led to the discovery of several new species including what is now known as Kumlien's gull (''Larus laucoideskumlieni''). Kumlien was born in a log cabin in Busseyville, Jefferson County to the Swedish-born naturalist Thure Kumlien and his wife Christina Wallberg. Ludwig went to school followed by

Albion Academy The Albion Academy and Normal School was an academy founded in 1854 by Seventh Day Baptists in the hamlet of Albion in Dane County, Wisconsin. It was later operated by the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. The school closed in 19 ...

Dane County, Wisconsin Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin after Milwaukee County. Dane County is the fastest growing county in Wisconsin. ...

, where his father was a professor of zoology and botany. Graduating in 1873, he joined the University of Wisconsin for a while and obtained a master of science from Milton College in 1892. He joined the Howgate Polar Expedition as a naturalist in 1877-78. Among the bird specimens was a gull that William Brewster described as a new species named as '' Larus kumlieni'' (Kumlien's gull). The expedition was funded by whaling operations conducted during the journey. He later became a professor of physics and natural history at Milton College in 1894 where he influenced many students. He died from throat cancer at his home in

Milton, Wisconsin Milton is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,716 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History The city was formed as a result of the 1967 merger of the villages of Milton and Milton Junction. In No ...

, and was buried in Milton Cemetery. During the Howgate Polar Expedition, Kumlien kept careful record of the names used by

Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

for the birds. This was re-examined in 1961 by Laurence Irving, who found the names to be stable and in use across a large area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumlien, Ludwig American ornithologists 1853 births 1902 deaths People from Jefferson County, Wisconsin Milton College alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Deaths from cancer in Wisconsin Deaths from throat cancer in the United States People from Milton, Wisconsin