Victor Blanchard Scheffer (November 27, 1906 – September 20, 2011) was an American biologist and the author of eleven books relating to

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

. He was born in Manhattan,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

and moved to

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

state at a young age. His father, Theophilus H. Scheffer (1866-1966), was an associate biologist for the United States Bureau of Biological Survey for 27 years, who focused on wildlife management in the Pacific Northwest.

Early years and education

Scheffer received his bachelor of science in 1930, his master of science in 1932, and his doctorate in zoology in 1936, all at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. In 1937, he began his scientific career as a biologist for the United States Bureau of Biological Survey, where he remained for three years. Scheffer investigated fishes and invertebrates in the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

from 1936-1938, a survey overseen by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. From 1940 to 1969, Scheffer was an employee in various (he also did the bottle challenge) sections of the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is a List of federal agencies in the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior which oversees the management of fish, wildlife, ...

. His work for the Fish and Wildlife Service included a study of the food of the Alaska fur seal and the anatomy and pelage of the northern fur seal

Later years

Scheffer's first book, ''Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses: A Review of the Pinnepedia'', was published by

Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It is currently a member of the Ass ...

in 1958. He remained working in the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service until 1969. Scheffer also was a lecturer for the

Ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

Department at the

between 1966 and 1972. He served as chairman of the initial United States Marine Mammal Commission from 1973-1976. Dr. Scheffer was a founding member of the advisory board of

BirdNote BirdNote is a nonprofit public media organization that aims to inspire people to care about the natural world and take steps to protect it. BirdNote produces BirdNote Daily', a daily radio program dedicated to sharing the joy and wonder of bird ...

, a radio show about birds, and dedicated to education and conservation. His 1969 prize winning book ''The Year of the Whale'' became a popular classic of marine biology. That book, called "remarkable" by

Christopher Lehmann-Haupt Christopher Lehmann-Haupt (June 14, 1934 – November 7, 2018) was an American journalist, editor of ''The New York Times Book Review'', critic, and novelist, based in New York City. He served as senior Daily Book Reviewer from 1969 to 1995. Bi ...

, received wide attention and appeared on American best-seller lists. In a review in the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, famed naturalist

Loren Eiseley Loren Eiseley (September 3, 1907 – July 9, 1977) was an American anthropologist, educator, philosopher, and natural science writer, who taught and published books from the 1950s through the 1970s. He received many honorary degrees and was a fel ...

wrote that "Scheffer knows, as Melville knew, that it is an 'unwritten life' he seeks to chronicle. Even the modern zoologist can gain, at best, only glimpses of the lives of these mysterious and transformed creatures.... It is just this interweaving of the known with the unknown that makes 'The Year of the Whale' a volume to be treasured." The Year of the Whale won the 1970

John Burroughs Medal The John Burroughs Medal, named for nature writer John Burroughs (1837–1921), is awarded each year in April by the John Burroughs Association to the author of a book that the association has judged to be distinguished in the field of natural hist ...

, recognizing it as the previous year's best natural history book. Scheffer's follow-up book was a companion volume titled ''The Year of the Seal'', which was also well-received critically. He went on to write a total of eleven books on topics in the fields of natural history, environmentalism, and zoology. These books included a memoir of his career, an analysis of modern environmentalism, and books for children, along with several additional popular works on the natural history of marine mammals.

Gallery

File:Fur seals callorhinus ursinus black and white photo.jpg,

Northern fur seal The northern fur seal (''Callorhinus ursinus'') is an eared seal found along the north Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea, and the Sea of Okhotsk. It is the largest member of the fur seal subfamily (Arctocephalinae) and the only living species in the ...

(''callorhinus ursinus'') photographed by Victor Blanchard Scheffer File:Tagging seal pup at tolstoi rookery.jpg, Tagging seal pup at Tolstoi rookery

References

External links

An article mentioning his 100th birthday with a picture

Guide to the Victor B. Scheffer Photograph Collection 1918-1976
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheffer, Victor Blanchard 1906 births 2011 deaths University of Washington alumni American men centenarians American zoologists John Burroughs Medal recipients