McKenna, Malcolm C.

Biographical Note

Malcom C. McKenna (1930-2008) was a paleontologist and a fixture at the American Museum of Natural History, where he served as the Frick Curator of Fossil Mammals. A giant in his field, he wrote hundreds of scientific papers and the book Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level, the standard for the taxonomy of mammals both modern and extinct. He was born in Pomona, CA, and attended the Webb School of California, California Institute of Technology, Pomona College, and the University of California, Berkeley, earning his B.A. in Paleontology in 1954 and a Ph.D in Paleontology in 1958. He began his career at the American Museum of Natural History in 1960 as Assistant Curator in the Dept. of Vertebrate Paleontology and eventually became Frick Curator of the department. He also taught Geology at Columbia University, as well as holding other teaching and board positions.

Selected Bibliography

McKenna, C. Malcolm and Susan K. Bell. Classification of Mammals: Above the Species Level. Columbia University Press, 1997.

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