American Museum of Natural History Research Library
author: American Museum of Natural History

Raven, Henry Cushier, 1889-1944
birth: 1889 April 16
death: 1944 April 5
Henry Cushier Raven, (born April 16, 1889, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. -- died April 4, 1944), was an expert scientific illustrator, taxidermist, and collector of essential expedition specimens for several of the top natural history institutions in the United States, including Columbia University, Cornell University, Colorado Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian Institution, and the American Museum of Natural History. His research and species data collecting brought him all over the world, resulting in the acquisition of hundreds of physical specimens (resulting in many dissection illustrations) as well as copious photographic and moving-picture evidence of their natural movement and habitats.
Henry C. Raven's love for natural history combined with his talent for taxidermy led to a coveted position in 1907 at the American Museum of Natural History as an associate in the Department of Preparation. (1) After a few years of exhibition arrangement, Raven left New York in 1910 and accepted a specimen collecting position at the Colorado Museum of Natural History. (2) Only two short years later, in 1912, Raven was hired by the Smithsonian as a fresh, enthusiastic natural historian to carry on the work of William Louis Abbott and lead their expedition to the East Indies, collecting specimens for display. He spent the next ten years exploring the world in Australia, India, Peru, Greenland and beyond gathering species data and photographing natural habitats for various institutions. His contributions to mammalogy, comparative anatomy, and field photography are indispensable as we continue to understand more about the habitats and musculature evolution of animal species. Raven’s later work as Curator of Comparative Anatomy for the AMNH made it possible for him to utilize more of his skills as an expert taxidermist, dissecting and illustrating various species of whales and primates for the study of muscle structure and evolutionary patterns in development. His attention to detail both in his research notes and his scientific illustrations remain a benchmark for future study.
Outside of the scientific field, Raven is best known for his unofficial adoption of Meshie, a small infant chimpanzee he purchased while exploring the Congo in 1929. Meshie, who was popular with the local media, lived with Raven’s family for many years before being transferred to a zoo in Chicago as an adult. Upon her death, Meshie was returned to the ownership of the AMNH and now resides in the Hall of Primates. (3)
Raven died in 1944 at age 55 from an acute malarial infection most likely contracted on his very first expedition in 1912 to Borneo and Celebes. (4)
1889 April 16Born in Brooklyn, New York
1918Student, Cornell University
1918Curator, Cornell University Zoology Museum
1919Specimen Collector, Smithsonian Institution Cape-to-Cairo expedition
1920Attended Columbia University
1921Scientific Photographer and Museum Representative during expedition to Australia
1923Scientific Photographer and Museum Representative during expedition to Australia
1929Researcher, co-sponsored expedition (with Columbia University) to Central Africa to secure comparative anatomical and illustrative material; two specimens of Gorilla of the Kivo region and one specimen of Gorilla form the Cameroon were collected.
1941Prosector, New York Zoological Park
1944Curator of Comparative Anatomy, American Museum of Natural History