Chrono-Biographical Sketch: James P. Chapin

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Chrono-Biographical Sketches

Chapin, James Paul (United States 1889-1964)
ornithology, field biology

from Wikipedia.org

James P. Chapin's permanent reputation rests on his work on African birds, which made him the early twentieth century's leading authority on that subject. While still an undergraduate at Columbia Chapin took advantage of an opportunity to join an expedition to collect specimens in the Belgian Congo; the adventure lasted six years, and he spent most of the rest of his life following up on his labors. Chapin's entire professional career was spent associated with the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Life Chronology

--born in New York City, on 9 July 1889.
--1905: prepares exhibits for the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH)
--1906: enters Columbia University
--1909-1915: assistant, Congo Expedition, AMNH
--1915-1919: assistant in the ornithology department, AMNH
--1917-1919: serves in the U.S. military
--1916: A.B., Columbia University
--1919-1923: assistant curator of ornithology, AMNH
--1923-1948: associate curator of ornithology, AMNH
--1923: expedition to Panama
--1926-1937: additional trips to the Belgian Congo and East Africa
--1931: receives Order of the Crown from King Albert of Belgium
--1932: Ph.D., Columbia University; receives Elliot Medal from the National Academy of Sciences
--1932-1954: publishes his Birds of the Belgian Congo, in four volumes
--1934-1950: president, Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences
--1937-1946: president, Staten Island Zoological Society
--1939-1942: president, American Ornithologists' Union
--1949: made curator emeritus and research associate in ornithology, AMNH
--1949-1950: president, Explorers' Club of New York
--dies in New York City, on 7 April 1964.

For Additional Information, See:

--The Auk, Vol. 83(2) (1966): 240-252.
--Natural History, (2) (1991): 2-3.

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