Alden Holmes Miller (February 4, 1906 – October 9, 1965) was an American

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

and director of the

Museum of Vertebrate Zoology The Museum of Vertebrate Zoology is a natural history museum at the University of California, Berkeley. The museum was founded by philanthropist Annie Montague Alexander in 1908. Alexander recommended zoologist Joseph Grinnell as museum director, ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

for 25 years. He published over 250 papers on the biology, distribution, and taxonomy of birds, and served as president of the

American Ornithologists' Union The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its m ...

(1953-1955) and the

International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 26 commissioners from 20 countries. Orga ...

(1964-1965), and as editor of ''The Condor'' from 1939 until his death. He was a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

. Alden Miller was born February 4, 1906, in Los Angeles, California, the son of

Loye H. Miller Loye Holmes Miller (18 October 1874 – 6 April 1970), was an American paleontologist and zoologist who served as professor of zoology at the University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Berkeley, and University of California ...

, a noted professor and researcher. He attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, earning a B.A. in 1927, then enrolled in UC Berkeley, receiving an M.S. in 1928 and his PhD in 1930 under

Joseph Grinnell Joseph Grinnell (February 27, 1877 – May 29, 1939) was an American field biologist and zoologist. He made extensive studies of the fauna of California, and is credited with introducing a method of recording precise field observations known as ...

. Ten years later he succeeded Grinnell as the director of the

. He is noted for his studies of ''

Lanius ''Lanius'', the typical shrikes, are a genus of passerine birds in the shrike family Laniidae. The majority of the family's species are placed in this genus. The genus name, ''Lanius'', is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some sh ...

'' (the largest genus of

shrike Shrikes () are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of 34 species in four genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, ''Lanius'', is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also know ...

s) and

junco A junco , genus ''Junco'', is a small North American bird in the New World sparrow family Passerellidae. Junco systematics are still confusing after decades of research, with various authors accepting between three and twelve species. Despit ...

s (sparrow-like birds). He received the

Brewster Medal The William Brewster Memorial Award, usually referred to as the Brewster Medal, is awarded by the American Ornithologists' Union and is named for ornithologist William Brewster. It is given to an author, or coauthors who are not previous recipien ...

for his contributions to ornithology. Miller's approach to collections-based research employed "concepts, theories, practices, tools, and technologies from the laboratory, museum, and field." Miller supervised around 30 doctoral students and 15 master's students, many of whom became notable ornithologists in their own right. His doctoral students included

Charles G. Sibley Charles Gald Sibley (August 7, 1917 – April 12, 1998) was an American ornithologist and molecular biologist. He had an immense influence on the scientific classification of birds, and the work that Sibley initiated has substantially altered our u ...

, who co-developed the

Sibley–Ahlquist taxonomy of birds The Sibley–Ahlquist taxonomy is a bird taxonomy proposed by Charles Sibley and Jon E. Ahlquist. It is based on DNA–DNA hybridization studies conducted in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. DNA–DNA hybridization is among a class of co ...

; author and conservationist

A. Starker Leopold Aldo Starker Leopold (October 22, 1913 – August 23, 1983) was an American author, forester, zoologist and conservationist. He also served as professor at the University of California, Berkeley for thirty years. Throughout his life, Leopold ...

; and

Richard C. Banks Richard Charles Banks (April 19, 1931 – October 24, 2021) was an American author, ornithologist and Emeritus Research Zoologist on staff with the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center run by the U.S. Geological Survey and stationed at the Smithso ...

, founder of the

Ornithological Council The Ornithological Council is an association of ornithology, ornithological organisations based in the Americas involved in bird study and conservation. It was established by Richard C. Banks and incorporated in Washington, D.C. in 1992 as a non-pro ...

. Miller died of a heart attack at

Clear Lake, California Clearlake is a city in Lake County, California. Clearlake is north-northwest of Lower Lake, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 16,685, up from 15,250 in 2010. It takes its name from Clear Lake. ...

, on October 9, 1965, at the age of 59. __NOTOC__

Books

* (With Joseph Grinnell) * (With

Robert C. Stebbins Robert Cyril Stebbins (March 31, 1915 – September 23, 2013) was an American Herpetology, herpetologist and illustrator known for his field guides and popular books as well as his studies of reptiles and amphibians. His ''Field Guide to Western ...

)

Notes

References

External links

Alden H. Miller papers
collection guide at the

Online Archive of California The California Digital Library (CDL) was founded by the University of California in 1997. Under the leadership of then UC President Richard C. Atkinson, the CDL's original mission was to forge a better system for scholarly information management a ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Alden Holmes 1906 births 1965 deaths American ornithologists 20th-century American zoologists Directors of museums in the United States Scientists from Los Angeles University of California, Berkeley alumni University of California, Berkeley faculty University of California, Los Angeles alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences