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

James, John
JOHN JAMES was born in Seattle, Washington to a clergyman.
He joined the AMNH Whitney South Sea Expedition in 1931 with his brother Harold. The Whitney South Sea Expedition was an ornithological expedition originated by Dr. Leonard C. Sanford and funded by Harry Payne Whitney, with the mission of systematically exploring Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia for previously undiscovered or little-known bird specimens. It was the largest ornithological expedition ever conceived. Active field research was conducted from 1920 to 1941.
The brothers collected bird specimens under the supervision of leader William Coultas. They quickly became expert skinners and assumed the responsibility of collecting for the expedition until their departure from the team in 1933.