Edmund Heller (May 21, 1875 – July 18, 1939) was an American zoologist. He was President of the
Association of Zoos & Aquariums for two terms, from 1935-1936 and 1937-1938.
Early life
While at
Stanford University, he collected specimens in the
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...
and
Mojave Deserts in 1896-7 before graduating with a degree in zoology in 1901.
Contributions
In 1907, Heller was with
Carl Ethan Akeley on the
Field Columbian Museum's African expedition. On his return, he was appointed Curator of Mammals at the
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology of the
University of California and participated in the 1908 Alexander Alaska Expedition.
In 1909, Heller began working with the
Smithsonian Institution when he was chosen as naturalist for large mammals on the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition under the command of Colonel
Theodore Roosevelt.
He worked closely with
John Alden Loring
John Alden Loring (March 31, 1871 – May 8, 1947) was a mammalogist and field naturalist who served with the Bureau of Biological Survey, United States Department of Agriculture, the Bronx Zoological Park, the Smithsonian Institution and numerou ...
who worked as naturalist for the small mammals on the Expedition and they collaborated on their field notes. On his return from the expedition, he co-authored Life Histories of African Game Animals with Roosevelt. Heller also accompanied the Rainey African Expedition of 1911-1912 for the Smithsonian and led the Smithsonian Cape-to-Cairo Expedition of 1919-1920.
Heller also participated in explorations in Alaska with the Biological Survey, in Peru with
Yale University and the
National Geographic Society, in China with the
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inte ...
, and in Russia with
Paul J. Rainey, official photographer to the Czech army in Siberia.
From 1926 to 1928, he was curator of mammals at the
Field Museum of Natural History in
Chicago. Edmund Heller was the director of the
Washington Park Zoo in
Milwaukee (from 1928 to 1935) and the
Fleishhacker Zoo in
San Francisco (from 1935 to 1939).
He was also the president of the
AZA from 1935 to 1939. At the beginning of the 20th century he led many expeditions to Africa and in 1914 he wrote the book ''Life-histories of African Game Animals'' in collaboration with Theodore Roosevelt.
Species and subspecies which were named in honor of Heller include the Southern Pacific rattlesnake ''(
Crotalus helleri
''Crotalus helleri'', known as the Southern Pacific rattlesnake, black diamond rattlesnake, Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of Corn ...
)'', Heller's coral snake ''(
Micrurus lemniscatus helleri)'', a skink ''(
Panaspis helleri)'', the red-necked keelback ''(
Rhabdophis subminiatus helleri)'',
[ Schmidt KP (1925). "New Reptiles and a New Salamander from China". ''American Museum Novitates'' (157): 1-5. ("Edmund Heller", p. 3).] the
Taita thrush
The Taita thrush (''Turdus helleri''), also known as the Taita olive thrush or Heller's ground thrush, is an endangered bird from the family of thrushes (Turdidae), endemic to the Taita Hills in Kenya.
Description
The Taita thrush was previously ...
''(Turdus helleri)'', and the
puna thistletail ''(Schizoeaca helleri)''.
Popular culture
* Heller, played by
Paul Birchard
Paul Birchard is an American actor who lives in Finland. He has appeared in film, television, stage and radio productions, most notably as Bud in ''Sweet Bird of Youth'' with the Royal National Theatre, Ross in ''The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?'' at ...
, appears in the TV series
The Young Indiana Jones in an episode featuring the
Smithsonian-African Expedition (1909-1910).
Literature
*
*
See also
*
:Taxa named by Edmund Heller
References
External links
Edmund Heller biography by the AZA*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heller, Edmund
American mammalogists
1875 births
1939 deaths
Stanford University alumni
Scientists from California
19th-century American zoologists
20th-century American zoologists