Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee (; January 4, 1901 – April 24, 1984) was a Swiss-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 ...

Early life and education

Meyer de Schauensee was born January 4, 1901 in

Rome, Italy Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, one of two sons, to

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

Frederick Meyer de Schauensee and his American-born wife Matilda (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Toland; died 1932). His father was from a well-established Swiss aristocratic family originally from

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

that owned Schauensee Castle. In 1913, the family moved to the United States. He attended the

Hoosac School Hoosac School is a private co-educational Episcopal boarding school located in Hoosick, New York, United States. History Hoosac school was founded in 1889 by Dr. Edward Dudley Tibbits originally for boys. Facilities are located on the Tibbits ...

Hoosick, New York Hoosick is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The population was 6,711 at the 2020 census. It was named from the Hoosic River. The Town of Hoosick is in the northeastern corner of Rensselaer County. History The town of Hoosic ...

. He moved to

Wynnewood, Pennsylvania Wynnewood is a suburban Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community, located west of Philadelphia, straddling Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and Haverford Township, D ...

in the 1920s.

Career

He was the curator of ornithology at the

Academy of Natural Sciences The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading natur ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

for nearly fifty years. He was particularly noted for his study of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

n birds. He expanded the academy's collection of bird skins, taking part in collecting trips to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

, the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

, and

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. He wrote about the birds of South America, including the groundbreaking ''A Guide to the Birds of South America'' in 1970, and published a book on the birds of China just two weeks before his death. De Schauensee is commemorated in the scientific names of two species of snakes, '' Eunectes deschauenseei'' and '' Hebius deschauenseei''. He is also the namesake of the green-capped tanager (''Stilpnia meyerdeschauenseei)''.

Personal life

Meyer de Schauensee married Williamina Wemyss Wentz (1905–1989), a daughter of John Leisenring Wentz and Sarah Ward Brinton (later Audenried). Her paternal grandfather was John Shriver Wentz, a coal industrialist associated with the Wentz Coal and Iron Company as well as the Upper Lehigh Coal Company. Her maternal grandfather was Dr. John Hill Brinton, a surgeon. They had two daughters; * Maude Meyer de Schauensee (born 1937), twin of Maxine * Maxine Meyer de Schauensee (born 1937), twin of Maude, married to Howard H. Lewis, an attorney and philanthropist of Bryn Mawr. They had two sons; J. Rodolphe Lewis and Howard H. Lewis Jr. Meyer de Schauensee died April 24, 1984 in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

aged 83.

References

American ornithologists 1901 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American zoologists American people of Swiss-Italian descent Swiss expatriates in Italy Swiss emigrants to the United States {{US-ornithologist-stub People from Philadelphia Swiss nobility