Ten fun facts about Ernst Mayr
Fact 1
Ernst Mayr was born in Germany in the year 1904. He was regarded as one of the most influential biologists of the last century in addition to being an ornithologist as well as a taxonomist.
Fact 2
Mayr’s interest in science was triggered by his father’s great love of natural history. Mayr’s father would often take his children to explore the outdoors.
Fact 3
During one of the explorations with his father, Mayr spotted a red-crested Pochard in 1923 the likes of which had not been sighted for more than 75 years. That renewed his interest in discovering new birds.
Fact 4
He undertook a trip to New Guinea in the year 1927 where he discovered many new bird species and orchids.
Fact 5
He worked at the American Museum of Natural History in a curatorial capacity in 1931, publishing many bird taxonomy related papers.
Fact 6
Mayr received numerous awards during his lifetime including the International Prize for Biology and the National Medal of Science.
Fact 7
He was one of the main people to inspire Margaret Morse Nice, a celebrated ornithologist from America.
Fact 8
In 1953, he was part of the teaching staff at Harvard University and retired from the same after 22 years of working there.
Fact 9
Even after his retirement, Mayr wrote numerous articles and published books even in his old age.
Fact 10
The 'Scientific American' magazine conducted an interview with Mayr on his 100th birthday. He died a few months later.
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