William Alanson Bryan (23 December 1875 - 18 June 1942) was an American

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

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 ...

, naturalist and museum director.

Life and work

Bryan was born on a farm in New Sharon,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. After his education, and his zoology studies, he graduated in 1896 from

Iowa State College Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

. In 1900 he came 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 stat ...

and took the position of curator of ornithology at the

Bernice P. Bishop Museum The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1889, it is the larg ...

. In June of the same year he married Ruth May Goss, who died in 1904. In 1907 he left the museum and founded the Pacific Scientific Institution, which aimed to promote biological and anthropological research in the Pacific. He then became a professor of zoology at the Faculty of the College of Hawai'i. In 1909 he married Elizabeth Letson Bryan (1874-1919), who worked as mussels and snails collector. Bryan unsuccessfully ran for governor of the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...

in 1913 and 1917. After his wife's death he finished his work at the College of Hawai'i and went to South America. In January 1920, he undertook an expedition to

Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...

. From 1921 until his retirement in 1940 he was director of the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, William Directors of museums in the United States American zoologists American naturalists American ornithologists 1875 births 1942 deaths