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Olin Sewall Pettingill Jr.

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Olin Sewall Pettingill Jr. [a] (October 30, 1907 – December 11, 2001) was an American naturalist, author and filmmaker, president of the Wilson Ornithological Society from 1948 to 1950,[2] a member of the board of directors of the National Audubon Society from 1955 to 1974,[1] and a Life Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union.[1]

Olin Sewall Pettingill Jr.
Sewall Pettingill and wife, Eleanor
Born(1907-10-30)October 30, 1907
Belgrade, Maine, U.S.
DiedDecember 11, 2001(2001-12-11) (aged 94)
Bedford, Texas, U.S.
Alma materBowdoin College
Cornell University
University of Michigan
Known forOrnithology
AwardsLudlow Griscom Award, Eisenmann Medal
Scientific career
FieldsBiology
InstitutionsCornell Laboratory of Ornithology

Early life

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Born October 30, 1907, in Belgrade, Maine, Pettingill attended Bowdoin College, where he developed an interest in ornithology.[1] Studying under zoologist Alfred O. Gross, Pettingill conducted studies of the last three heath hens on Martha's Vineyard in 1927 with Gross and Thornton Burgess.[1]

In 1928, Pettingill enrolled in the University of Michigan, then attended graduate school at Cornell University starting in 1930 – joining the AOU in the same year – where he conducted a PhD dissertation on the American woodcock.[1]

Career

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Appointed a delegate to the 12th and 14th International Ornithological Congresses,[1] Pettingill was appointed Director of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in 1960, a position he held until his retirement in 1973,[1] and provided footage for four Walt Disney nature films, including the Academy Award-winning The Vanishing Prairie,[1] in addition to making several ornithological films of his own, including works on albatrosses, penguins, and the wildlife of island nations, which often aired as part of Audubon Screen Tours.[3]

Tenured at Carleton College for 17 years,[1] Pettingill taught at the University of Michigan Biological Station for 35 years.[1] Pettingill was awarded birding's highest honor, the Ludlow Griscom Award, in 1982,[1] and also received Cornell's Arthur A. Allen Medal in 1974, and the Eisenmann Medal in 1985.[1] Holding three honorary doctorates in science,[1] Pettingill appeared on both The Today Show and To Tell the Truth.[1]

Death

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Pettingill died December 11, 2001, in Bedford, Texas, aged 94.[1]

Works

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Books
  • Ornithology in Laboratory and Field, 1939 (2nd edition, 1946;[4] 3rd edition, 1956;[5] 4th edition, 1970; 5th edition, 1985); 2013 pbk reprint of 4th edition
  • A Guide to Finding Birds East of the Mississippi, 1951
  • A Guide to Finding Birds West of the Mississippi, 1953
  • Enjoying Maine Birds, 1960
  • Enjoying Birds in Upstate New York, 1963
  • Enjoying Birds around New York City, 1966
  • The Audubon Illustrated handbook of American Birds, editor-in-chief, 1968.
  • The Bird Watcher's America, editor, 1974[6]
  • Another Penguin Summer, 1975[7]
  • My Way to Ornithology, 1992[8]
Films
  • Nature's Half Acre, 1951
  • Water Birds, 1952
  • The Vanishing Prairie, 1954
  • Islands of the Sea, 1960

Notes

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  1. ^ Largely known simply as Sewall Pettingill, as he preferred to be called[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Losito, Michael P. (2002). "In Memoriam: Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr., 1907-2001". The Auk. 119 (4): 1104–1107. doi:10.2307/4090237. JSTOR 4090237.
  2. ^ "Past Presidents of the WOS". Wilson Ornithological Society. Accessed 2010-05-12.
  3. ^ "Historical Highlights: The Heroes". Archived 2009-07-11 at the Wayback Machine Audubon Centinnial: 100 Years of Conservation. National Audubon Society. Accessed 13 May 2010.
  4. ^ Pitelka, Frank A. (1946). "Review of A Laboratory and Field Manual of Ornithology, 2nd edition, by Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr". The Wilson Bulletin. 58 (2): 119–120.
  5. ^ David E. Davis (March 1957). "Review of A Laboratory and Field Manual of Ornithology, 3rd edition, by Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr". The Quarterly Review of Biology. 32 (1): 69. doi:10.1086/401701.
  6. ^ Bagg, Aaron M. (June 1966). "Review of The Bird Watcher's America edited by Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr". The Quarterly Review of Biology. 41 (2): 203. doi:10.1086/404960.
  7. ^ Butler, Paula (1976). "Review of Another Penguin Summer by Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr" (PDF). Bird Observer. 4 (4): 107.
  8. ^ "Review of My Way to Ornithology by Olin Sewall Pettingill". Publishers Weekly. 30 April 1992.
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