Henry Wetherbee Henshaw (March 3, 1850 – August 1, 1930) was an American ornithologist and ethnologist. He worked at the U.S. Bureau of Ethnology from 1888 to 1892 and was editor of the journal ''American Anthropologist''.

Biography

Early life

Henry Henshaw was born to William and Sarah Holden Wetherbee. He studied at Cambridge High School where he met William Brewster. In 1869 he was forced to give up school due to ill health, and went on a collecting trip to

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. This marked the start of his career as a field naturalist. In 1870 Henshaw traveled to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

with naturalist

Charles Johnson Maynard Charles Johnson Maynard (May 6, 1845 – October 15, 1929) was an American naturalist and ornithologist born in Newton, Massachusetts. He was a collector, a taxidermist, and an expert on the vocal organs of birds. In addition to birds, he also s ...

and artist Edwin Lord Weeks. In the same year he found the first Baird's sandpiper east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

, in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. It was through this discovery that Henshaw became known to the secretary of the Smithsonian,

Spencer Baird Spencer Fullerton Baird (; February 3, 1823 – August 19, 1887) was an American naturalist, ornithologist, ichthyologist, herpetologist, and museum curator. Baird was the first curator to be named at the Smithsonian Institution. He eventually ...

. In 1872 he went to

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

as natural history collector on the

Wheeler Survey The Wheeler Survey, carried out in 1872-1879, was one of the "Four Great Surveys" conducted by the US government after the Civil War primarily to document the geology and natural resources of the American West. Supervised by First Lieutenant (lat ...

, continuing until it merged with the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

in 1879.

Out West

In 1872 Henshaw went to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

on the Wheeler Survey as a naturalist, and in 1874 had his most successful field expedition, going from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Gila River and south-western

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. There he met with the native

Apaches The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

, and caught specimens for the Smithsonian. In 1875, he returned to Washington, and was approached by

John Wesley Powell John Wesley Powell (March 24, 1834 – September 23, 1902) was an American geologist, U.S. Army soldier, explorer of the American West, professor at Illinois Wesleyan University, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions. He ...

of the

Bureau of Ethnology The Bureau of American Ethnology (or BAE, originally, Bureau of Ethnology) was established in 1879 by an act of Congress for the purpose of transferring archives, records and materials relating to the Indians of North America from the Interior D ...

. Along with C. Hart Merriam and Grove Karl Gilbert, Henshaw set out West on the

, where in addition to his ornithological work, Henshaw worked on

linguistics Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...

and

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

, eventually compiling two volume book titled ''Handbook of North American Indians North of Mexico''.

Hawaii

In 1894, in ill health after a severe attack of influenza that left him hospitalized, Henshaw moved to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

with the express intent of becoming a citizen of the island nation, and in search of better health. There, he picked up

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

. As his health returned, he returned to ornithology, especially related to birds of the Hilo area, where he lived, as well as those in the drier, higher elevations around Mauna Kea. He collected and preserved hundreds of specimens and published two works on Hawaiian birds. Viewing the mass

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

of birds in

would later make Henshaw a conservationist. He left Hawaii in 1904 to return to Washington, D.C.

Conservation

In 1910, Henshaw replaced his old friend C. Hart Merriam as the head of the U.S. Biological Survey. With new-found zeal, Henshaw began working for bird conservation, publishing ''Fifty Common Birds of Farm and Orchard'', which sold 200,000 copies, in 1913. This publication caused Henshaw to be approached by

Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor (; October 28, 1875 – February 4, 1966), father of photojournalism, was the first full-time editing, editor of the ''National Geographic'' magazine (1899–1954). Grosvenor is credited with having built the magazine into ...

, who asked Henshaw if ''Fifty Common Birds of Farm and Orchard'' could be printed in the

National Geographic Magazine ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

. The end result of that publication was the National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America. While not working with the National Geographic, Henshaw lobbied, along with George Shiras, to pass the Weeks-McLean Act, otherwise known as the Migratory Bird Law. Henshaw handed

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

the pen with which Wilson signed the Act into law in 1913.

Later life

Henshaw retired in 1916, and lived in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

unmarried until the end of his days. In his old age he began studying algae. Henshaw died on August 1, 1930, aged 81.

Organizations

Henshaw was one of the founders of the Nuttall Ornithological Club in 1873, the American Ornithologists' Union in 1883, and the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, an ...

in 1888.

Legacy

Henshaw is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of lizard, '' Xantusia henshawi''.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Henshaw", p. 121).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Henshaw, Henry Wetherbee American ornithologists 1850 births 1930 deaths American anthropologists American explorers National Geographic Society founders National Geographic people