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Granger, Walter, 1872-1941

 Person

Biographical Note

Walter Granger (1872-1941) was born in Vermont and was interested in natural history in high school. Outside of his academic studies, Granger worked as a professional taxidermist. At 17, he left school to start at the American Museum of Natural History in the Mammalogy and Bird Department after securing a job through his father’s taxidermist friend, Jenness B. Richardson. After doing field work with the Department of Paleontology in 1895, Granger transferred to that department in 1896 to do field work, preparation, and museum assistant work full time. From 1908-1909, he served as an Assistant in Paleontology, then becoming Assistant Curator in 1910, Associate Curator of Fossil Mammals from 1911-1926, and finally Curator of Fossil Mammals from 1927 onwards.

Granger led and participated in notable expeditions to the Bone Cabin Quarry in Wyoming; the Paleocene of New Mexico; the Bridger, Wind River, Wasatch, and Uinta Badlands in and around Wyoming; Fayum, Egypt; and the Central Asiatic Expeditions to Mongolia and China. His publications include works on Eocene horses; Wasatch and Wind River Fauna; and the fossil mammals found on the Central Asiatic Expeditions. His contributions to the paleontological field include the discoveries of the velociraptor, the oviraptor, the protoceratops, dinosaur egg nests, and the full skull of the Baluchitherium.

Granger was married to his cousin Anna Deane Granger, who went with him on the Central Asiatic Expeditions. Although he never attended any institutions of higher education, he received an honorary doctorate in science from Middlebury College in 1932. In 1935, Granger became President of Explorers Club. After his death, the Asiatic Hall of Fossils was named the Walter Granger Memorial Hall.

Selected Bibliography

Granger, Walter, and George Gaylord Simpson. A Revision of the Tertiary Multituberculata. Bulletin / American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 56. New York: Published by order of the Trustees, the American Museum of Natural History, 1929.

Granger, Walter, and Newton H Brown. Tertiary Faunal Horizons in the Wind River Basin, Wyoming, with Descriptions of New Eocene Mammals. Bulletin / American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 28. New York: Published by order of the Trustees, American Museum of Natural History, 1910.

Granger, Walter. A Revision of the American Eocene Horses. Bulletin / American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 24. New York: Published by order of the Trustees, American Museum of Natural History, 1908.

Granger, Walter, and William John Sinclair. On the Names of Lower Eocene Faunal Horizons of Wyoming and New Mexico. Bulletin / American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 33. New York: Published by order of the Trustees, American Museum of Natural History, 1914.

Granger, Walter, William K Gregory, Henry Fairfield Osborn, and Central Asiatic Expeditions. Further Notes on the Gigantic Extinct Rhinoceros, Baluchitherium, from the Oligocene of Mongolia. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, V. 72, Article 1. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1936.

Granger, Walter, William K Gregory, Henry Fairfield Osborn, and Central Asiatic Expeditions. A Revision of the Mongolian Titanotheres. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. 80, Art. 10. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1943.

Sources

"Science: In the Museums", Time Magazine. https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,748771,00.html

Found in 4 Collections and/or Records:

Central Asiatic Expeditions records

 Collection
Identifier: Mss .C446
Scope and Contents This collection is a record of the Museum’s explorations undertaken during the 1920s in the Gobi Desert under the leadership of Roy Chapman Andrews. A list of the men who participated in the CAE can be culled from the expeditions’ letterheads used by museum personnel in New York. All but three of the men cited on these letterheads are represented here. Those not found are Mont Reid, a physician, James Wang, an interpreter and G. Horwath of motor transport. The variety of other correspondents...
Dates: 1916-1940; Majority of material found within 1921-1933

William King Gregory papers, 1889-1948 (bulk 1906-1948)

 Collection
Identifier: Mss .G7441
Scope and Contents The collection consists of administrative, scientific, academic and personal papers, and correspondence. Papers include Gregory's general correspondence with universities, colleges and scientists about his research topics and publications; correspondence with museums about purchasing replicas of fossils; and with students seeking employement. Other papers include lecture notes prepared for zoology classes emphasizing evolution, 1925-1926 and 1939; and manuscripts and notes for his...
Dates: 1889-1948; Majority of material found within 1906-1948

Series 1: Field diaries, 1891-1998

 Series
Identifier: VPA 101
Scope and Contents

Consist of diaries, lists of specimens found, locations of finds, records of day to day activities, and step by step findings. Individual lists can be found with both the Charles H. Falkenbach and Ted Galusha Papers. The diaries are arranged by date and filed as nearly as possible in chronological order. Notable names in the field diaries include H. F. Osborn, Walter Granger, Barnum Brown, and G. G. Simpson.

Dates: 1891-1998