Expedition. Carl Akeley organized the Akeley Expedition to British East Africa (1909-1911) to collect large game, especially elephants, for the American Museum of Natural History and to photograph the flora, fauna and inhabitants of the region.
Carl Ethan Akeley (born May 19, 1864, Clarendon, New York— died November
17, 1926, Belgian Congo, Africa), taxidermist, sculptor, inventor, explorer, and
naturalist, who led five expeditions to Africa, three of which for the Museum of
Natural History where he gathered specimens for his African Hall Exhibition. He
is the author of the book In Brightest Africa.
Delia Julia Denning (born December 5, 1875 Beaver Dam, Wisconsin – died
May 22, 1970, Daytona Beach, Florida), explorer, big game hunter, naturalist,
and author, who went on four expeditions to Africa, both with former husband
Carl Ethan Akeley for the American Museum of Natural History as well as solo for
the Brooklyn Museum . She is the author of numerous magazine articles as well as
the books J.T., j.r.: the biography of the African monkey (1929) and Jungle
Portraits (1930).
The Akeley-Eastman-Pomeroy African Hall Expedition was a collecting expedition to
Africa; its mission was to provide specimens for the African Hall at the American Museum of
Natural History, originally conceived in 1910. The man behind both the exhibit hall and the
expedition was Carl Ethan Akeley, an animal sculptor and taxidermist, an inventor, naturalist
and photographer. The Eastman-Pomeroy expedition focused on collecting specimens for the
dioramas of the African Hall, as well as accessories such as grass and bushes, and the creation
of background paintings from artists William Leigh and Arthur August Jansson.