Herbert Friedmann (April 22, 1900 – May 14, 1987) 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 ...

. He worked at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

for more than 30 years. In 1929 he became a fellow 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 ...

(AOU) and served as the President of the AOU from 1937 to 1939. He published 17 books and was noted for study of Avian brood parasites.

Early life and education

Herbert Friedmann grew up in Brooklyn, New York, the second of four sons. Young Friedman took advantage of educational and cultural opportunities offered in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, regularly visiting museums and taking advantage of standing room at the city's centers for performing arts. The

Museum of Natural History A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more ...

, the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

and the

Bronx Zoo The Bronx Zoo (also historically the Bronx Zoological Park and the Bronx Zoological Gardens) is a zoo within Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York. It is one of the largest zoos in the United States by area and is the largest metropolitan zoo in ...

were among his favorite destinations. He joined a bird club during his high school years and kept detailed notes on birds that he observed. He continued to study birds after entering the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

at 16 years old and maintained a close association with the Museum of Natural History. While attending City College, Friedmann studied the "Weaving of the Red-Billed Weaver Bird in Captivity" at the

. That study was later published in ''Zoologica'' 2(16):355-72, his first published article. Dr. William Beebe, then Honorary Curator of Birds and Director of the Department of Tropical Research at the zoo, was impressed by the work and encouraged Friedmann to apply for a scholarship to

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. He got the scholarship and completed his PhD in three years. His dissertation was on

brood parasitism Brood parasites are animals that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite manipulates a host, either of the same or of another species, to raise its young as if it were its own ...

cowbird Cowbirds are birds belonging to the genus ''Molothrus'' in the family Icteridae. They are of New World origin, and are obligate brood parasites, laying their eggs in the nests of other species. The genus was introduced by English naturalist Will ...

Career

Postgraduate work

After graduation in 1923, Friedmann taught a summer course for the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. For the next three years, he spent most of his time in South America and Africa studying parasitic birds on a postdoctoral grant from the

National Research Council National Research Council may refer to: * National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development * National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome * National Research Council (United States), part of ...

and

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

. He taught courses at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

in 1925–1926 and at

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

in 1927–1929.

Smithsonian museums

In September 1929, Friedmann was appointed curator of birds at the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

and continued to serve in that position until he was appointed as head curator of zoology in 1959.

Awards

In 1955 Friedmann was awarded the

Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal The Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal is awarded by the U.S. United States National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences "for meritorious work in zoology or paleontology study published in a three- to five-year period." Named after Daniel Gir ...

from 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 ...

for his book, ''The Honey Guides''. Friedmann was also awarded the

Leidy Award The Leidy Award is a medal and prize presented by the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was named after US palaeontologist Joseph Leidy. T ...

by the

Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading natura ...

that same year. The

awarded the William Brewster Memorial Award to Friedmann in 1964 for "an exceptional body of work on birds of the Western Hemisphere."

References

External links

National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedmann, Herbert American ornithologists People from Brooklyn 1900 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American zoologists Scientists from New York (state)