Victor Blanchard Scheffer (November 27, 1906 – September 20, 2011)
was an American biologist and the author of eleven books relating to
natural history. He was born in Manhattan,
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
and moved to
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
state at a young age. His father, Theophilus H. Scheffer (1866-1966), was an associate biologist for the
United States Bureau of Biological Survey
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with oth ...
for 27 years, who focused on wildlife management in the Pacific Northwest.
Early years and education
Scheffer received his bachelor of science in 1930, his master of science in 1932, and his doctorate in zoology in 1936, all at the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...
in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
. In 1937, he began his scientific career as a biologist for the
United States Bureau of Biological Survey
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with oth ...
, where he remained for three years. Scheffer investigated fishes and invertebrates in the
Aleutian Islands
The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large v ...
of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
from 1936-1938, a survey overseen by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. From 1940 to 1969, Scheffer was an employee in various (he also did the bottle challenge) sections of the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
. His work for the Fish and Wildlife Service included a study of the food of the Alaska fur seal and the anatomy and pelage of the northern fur seal
Later years
Scheffer's first book, ''Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses: A Review of the Pinnepedia'', was published by
Stanford University Press in 1958. He remained working in the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service until 1969. Scheffer also was a lecturer for the
Ecology
Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...
Department at the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...
between 1966 and 1972. He served as chairman of the initial United States
Marine Mammal Commission
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
...
from 1973-1976. Dr. Scheffer was a founding member of the advisory board of
BirdNote, a radio show about birds, and dedicated to education and conservation.
His 1969 prize winning book ''The Year of the Whale'' became a popular classic of marine biology. That book, called "remarkable" by
Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
Christopher Lehmann-Haupt (June 14, 1934 – November 7, 2018) was an American journalist, editor of the ''New York Times Book Review'', critic, and novelist, based in New York City. He served as senior Daily Book Reviewer from 1969 to 1995.
Bi ...
, received wide attention and appeared on American best-seller lists. In a review in the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
, famed naturalist
Loren Eiseley
Loren Eiseley (September 3, 1907 – July 9, 1977) was an American anthropologist, educator, philosopher, and natural science writer, who taught and published books from the 1950s through the 1970s. He received many honorary degrees and was ...
wrote that "Scheffer knows, as Melville knew, that it is an 'unwritten life' he seeks to chronicle. Even the modern zoologist can gain, at best, only glimpses of the lives of these mysterious and transformed creatures.... It is just this interweaving of the known with the unknown that makes 'The Year of the Whale' a volume to be treasured." The Year of the Whale won the 1970
John Burroughs Medal, recognizing it as the previous year's best natural history book.
Scheffer's follow-up book was a companion volume titled ''The Year of the Seal'', which was also well-received critically. He went on to write a total of eleven books on topics in the fields of natural history, environmentalism, and zoology. These books included a memoir of his career, an analysis of modern environmentalism, and books for children, along with several additional popular works on the natural history of marine mammals.
[http://www.worldcat.org/search?qt=worldcat_org_all&q=victor+scheffer ]
Gallery
File:Fur seals callorhinus ursinus black and white photo.jpg, Northern fur seal
The northern fur seal (''Callorhinus ursinus'') is an eared seal found along the north Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea, and the Sea of Okhotsk. It is the largest member of the fur seal subfamily (Arctocephalinae) and the only living species in t ...
(''callorhinus ursinus'') photographed by Victor Blanchard Scheffer
File:Tagging seal pup at tolstoi rookery.jpg, Tagging seal pup at Tolstoi rookery
References
External links
An article mentioning his 100th birthday with a pictureGuide to the Victor B. Scheffer Photograph Collection 1918-1976
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheffer, Victor Blanchard
1906 births
2011 deaths
University of Washington alumni
American centenarians
Men centenarians
American zoologists
John Burroughs Medal recipients