![Jonathan Dwight by John Adams Whipple 1852](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Jonathan_Dwight_by_John_Adams_Whipple_1852.jpeg)
Jonathan Dwight V (1858–1929) 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 ...
.
Life
Jonathan Dwight was born December 8, 1858 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 ...
. His father was civil engineer Jonathan Dwight (1831–1910), grandfather Jonathan Dwight (1799–1856), great grandfather Jonathan Dwight (1772–1840), and great-great grandfather also named Jonathan Dwight (1743–1831), all part of the large
New England Dwight family The Dwight family of New England had many members who were military leaders, educators, jurists, authors, businessmen and clergy.
Around 1634, John Dwight came with his wife Hannah, daughter Hannah, and sons Timothy (1629–1718) and John (d. 163 ...
. His mother was Julia Lawrence Hasbrouck.
In 1861 the family moved to
Madison, New Jersey
Madison is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 16,937.
Located along the Morris & Essex Lines, it is noted for Madison's historic railroad station becoming one ...
. His family had a summer home in
Tadoussac, Quebec
Tadoussac () is a village in Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saguenay and Saint Lawrence rivers. The indigenous Innu call the place ''Totouskak'' (plural for ''totouswk'' or ''totochak'') meaning "bosom", probably in reference to the tw ...
, and his first paper was published in 1879 on the birds observed there. He graduated from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1880, and joined his father in railroad design.
He enlisted in the New York National Guard in 1889. After serving in the ambulance corps, he developed an interest in medicine. In 1893 he entered the
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S) is the graduate medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Founded i ...
.
He worked for a while in a hospital and private practice, but over time devoted more time to the study of birds. Dwight was a member 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 ...
since its founding on September 26, 1883.
He was treasurer from 1903 to 1920, vice president until 1923, and president to 1926.
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 inter ...
provided a room for his collection in 1909.
He married Georgina Gertrude Rundle (daughter of Richard Plaskett Rundle) in 1901; she died January 29, 1903.
He married Ethel Gordon Wishart Adam in 1914.
[ Obituary read October 22, 1929.] He died of cancer at his home at 43 West 70th Street in New York City on February 22, 1929.
Legacy
After Dwight's death,
Fiduciary Trust Company founder Carll Tucker purchased Dwight's collection of ornithology books as a gift for his wife
Marcia Brady Tucker, daughter of
Anthony N. Brady, a founder of
Union Carbide
Union Carbide Corporation is an American chemical corporation wholly owned subsidiary (since February 6, 2001) by Dow Chemical Company. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers befo ...
.
Marcia Brady Tucker, two-time director of the
National Association of Audubon Societies, donated the collection to 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 ...
in 1970.
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References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dwight, Jonathan
1858 births
1929 deaths
American ornithologists
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni
Harvard University alumni
People from Madison, New Jersey
People from the Upper West Side
Scientists from New York (state)