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.
Found in 4 Collections and/or Records:
American Museum of Natural History oral history collection, 1975-2002.
Department of Vertebrate Paleontology correspondence
Field and Expedition Equipment
Series 1: Field diaries, 1891-1998
Consist of diaries, lists of specimens found, locations of finds, records of day to day activities, and step by step findings.
Most of the diaries from the Central Asiatic Expedition were transferred to the main museum archive in the 1970's. The Department of Vertebrate Paleontology Archive holds copies of those diaries.