Malcolm Carnegie McKenna (1930–2008) was an American

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

and author on the subject.

Paleontologist

McKenna began his paleontology career at the

Webb School of California The Webb Schools is the collective name for two private schools for grades 9-12, founded by Thompson Webb, located in Claremont, California. The Webb School of California for boys was established in 1922, and the Vivian Webb School for girls in 1 ...

(grades 9-12) in Claremont, California, under noted paleontologist and teacher, Raymond Alf. He attended the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

and

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became t ...

, then graduated in

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, where he also earned his Ph.D. He was the curator of

vertebrate paleontology Vertebrate paleontology is the subfield of paleontology that seeks to discover, through the study of fossilized remains, the behavior, reproduction and appearance of extinct animals with vertebrae or a notochord. It also tries to connect, by us ...

at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Through most of his four decades at the museum, he held a professorship in geosciences at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. From 1975 to 1976 he served as president of the

Society of Vertebrate Paleontology The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) is a professional organization that was founded in the United States in 1940 to advance the science of vertebrate paleontology around the world. Mission and Activities SVP has about 2,300 members inter ...

. With Susan K. Bell, he co-authored the 1997 book ''Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level,'' a comprehensive work genealogy of

Mammalia Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...

, including the systematics, relationships, and occurrences of all Mammal taxa, living and extinct, down through the rank of

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

. In 1992 he was awarded the

Paleontological Society Medal The Paleontological Society Medal is an award given by the Paleontological Society to a person whose eminence is based on advancement of knowledge in paleontology.Paleontology Society Medal information page https://www.paleosoc.org/paleontological ...

and the Romer-Simpson Medal in 2000, the

’s highest honor.

Family

McKenna was born in

Pomona, California Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Pol ...

, the son of Bernice and Donald McKenna, a founding trustee of Claremont McKenna College in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

. He was a resident of Englewood, New Jersey, while he was at the American Museum of Natural History. His wife, Priscilla, had served as President of the City Council for many years. A great-grandparent was a cousin of the steel magnate

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

. Since 2013, McKenna has been listed on the Advisory Council of the National Center for Science Education. McKenna's son,

Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

, is a screenwriter whose work has included the television miniseries '' The Pacific''. McKenna's daughter, Katharine L. McKenna, is an artist living in Woodstock, NY. Malcolm Carnegie McKenna died on March 3, 2008, in Boulder, Colorado.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKenna, Malcolm 1930 births 2008 deaths American paleontologists Columbia University faculty People associated with the American Museum of Natural History People from Englewood, New Jersey People from Pomona, California University of California, Berkeley alumni Pomona College alumni