William Gaylord Conway (November 20, 1929October 21, 2021) 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 kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...

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 ...

and conservationist. William Gaylord Conway was born on November 20, 1929, in St. Louis, Missouri. He began his career with the

St. Louis Zoo The Saint Louis Zoo, officially known as the Saint Louis Zoological Park, is a zoo in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri. It is recognized as a leading zoo in animal management, research, conservation, and education. The zoo is accredited by the ...

. He joined the

New York Zoological Society New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

in 1956 as assistant curator of birds. He was later promoted to director of the society, and then became president of it in 1992 when it was reconfigured into the

Wildlife Conservation Society The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a non-governmental organization headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, that aims to conserve the world's largest wild places in 14 priority regions. Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological ...

. He retired as president in 1999 and retained the title of senior conservationist. During his tenure, Conway was responsible for modernizing the animal exhibits at 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 ...

, and he also introduced now iconic Bronx Zoo exhibits, including the World of Darkness (1969), the World of Birds (1972), Wild Asia (1977), JungleWorld (1985), and Congo Gorilla Forest (1999). Conway was a proponent of zoological exhibition of animals in a setting that recreated the environment from which the species originated. Conway successfully negotiated the society's acquisition of the

Central Park Zoo The Central Park Zoo is a zoo located at the southeast corner of Central Park in New York City. It is part of an integrated system of four zoos and one aquarium managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). In conjunction with the Centra ...

from the

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 ...

municipal government in 1981, which resulted in an extensive renovation program for the attraction so it could meet modern zoological exhibition requirements. Conway has also been in the forefront of promoting

captive breeding Captive breeding, also known as captive propagation, is the process of plants or animals in controlled environments, such as wildlife reserves, zoos, botanic gardens, and other conservation facilities. It is sometimes employed to help species tha ...

programs for

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

. He was responsible for creating the Wildlife Propagation Trust in 1964, that resulted in the coordination of zoos to pursue the twin goals of preserving at-risk species and eventually reintroducing animals back to the wild. Conway was also responsible for leading the development of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association accreditation program. He has authored more than 250 articles and reports relating to wildlife conservation,

ornithology 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 t ...

, wild animal care propagation and ecological preservation. In 1999, the

National Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...

awarded Conway its highest honor, the Audubon Medal. Conway died on October 21, 2021, in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, William G. 1929 births 2021 deaths 21st-century American zoologists American ornithologists Zoo directors Saint Louis Zoo people Wildlife Conservation Society people