Allen, J. A. (Joel Asaph), 1838-1921
Dates
- Existence: 1838-07-19 - 1921-08-30
Abstract
Joel Asaph Allen was a museum curator, ornithologist, zoologist, taxonomist and writer. He was curator in the American Museum of Natural History's Dept. of Mammalogy and Ornithology, 1885-1920. Allen began collecting and classifying birds at the age of 13. He studied at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) and became a staff member in 1871, meanwhile participating in the 1865-1866 Thayer Expedition to Brazil, on which he collected bird and mammal skins, geological specimens, fishes, reptiles and other vertebrates. Allen also participated in several U.S. expeditions, collecting, surveying and making scientific observations. At the AMNH, Allen increasingly concentrated his attention on acquisitions, research and writing, and editorial work, cataloging thousands of specimens of birds and mammals in the museum's collections and providing editorial supervision for the Bulletin of the AMNH and the Memoirs of the AMNH. He was the first president of the American Ornithologists' Union for seven years from its formation in 1883, and was editor of The Auk for 27 years.
Topics
Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:
Benchmark showing latitude, longitude and altitude of museum, 1911-1913
Primarily correspondence between E. O. Hovey and museum administrators, U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, U. S. Geological Survey, and New York City Board of Estimate and Apportionment, regarding design of a benchmark indicating latitude, longitude, and elevation of a point on museum grounds. Also contains sketches of proposed benchmark. Contains "Index to Letters" (1 p.).
Museum matters, 1911-1912
Primarily correspondence between E. O. Hovey and museum administrators on various museum matters, including Hovey's acceptance of the position of Acting Director of the museum. Contains "Index to Letters" (1 p.).
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