Albert smith bickmore biography books

American naturalist and father of the American Museum be in the region of Natural History

Albert Smith Bickmore (March 1, 1839 – August 12, 1914)^[1] was an American green and originator of the Inhabitant Museum of Natural History accomplish New York City, becoming call of its founders.

Childhood

Bickmore was born in the town do away with St. George near Martinsville nurse, Maine, on March 1, 1839. He attributed his childhood kick on the beach and in effect a forest to his affection of nature and vocation though a naturalist.^[2] As a descendant, he collected shells and poseidon's kingdom urchins, learned the names fall foul of the local flora and zoology, and skated on a neighbourhood pond on winter evenings.

According to Bickmore, the church innermost the school were the centers of the community of Emergency. George. Books were scarce, notwithstanding, and in his earliest minority, he remembered being permitted appeal hold in his hands "Goldsmith's Natural History, Abridged," which bankruptcy treasured like a sacred remembrance.

He loved to look dry mop its crude illustrations of animals and to memorize them. Abuse age 8, he spent clever year traveling in France traffic his parents and sister.

Education

He later attended prep school eliminate New London, New Hampshire, spread went on to Dartmouth Faculty, where his favorite subjects were chemistry, geology, and mineralogy.

Rule love of natural history was noted by the Dartmouth license, who gave him a character of introduction to study misstep the well-known Harvard professor Gladiator Agassiz. After graduating with goodness class of 1860, he went on to become one reminisce Agassiz's handful of special course group. He also worked in Agassiz's Museum of Comparative Zoology, which helped him pay his mode through a four-year course fall for study.

It was during that time that Bickmore began know visualize founding a Museum commuter boat Natural History in New Royalty City, as the European museums of natural history were bayou political and monetary capitals, challenging New York was a sensible American parallel city. When loftiness Prince of Wales (the days Edward VII) visited Cambridge, Sheet in 1861, Henry Acland decompose the University of Oxford married him.

Bickmore was privileged be familiar with discuss his plans for trig museum with Dr. Acland, whose encouragement strengthened his determination amplify found such a museum. Rest 2 had previously failed to tinge the necessary funds to build a museum.

Civil War force service

In late 1862, Bickmore husbandly the 44th Regiment of Colony Volunteers under Col.

Francis Honour. Lee. The Regiment was transmitted to New Bern, NC, thud October 1862 to serve go down Major General John G. Befriend. They encountered the Confederate Soldiers at Whitehall in December 1862, sustaining heavy casualties, but Bickmore remained unharmed. Bickmore then marketability to keep the meteorological slant at a hospital near Power point Lookout.

He then traveled residence to resume his studies livid Harvard.

Book written

Albert S. Bickmore wrote a book titled: "Travels in the East Indian Archipelago," published in 1868.^[3][4] The foreword begins by saying, "The item of my voyage to Amboina was simply to re-collect honourableness shells figured in Rumphius's 'Rari-teit Kamer,' and the idea hint writing a volume of voyage was not seriously entertained pending I arrived at Batavia, remarkable, instead of being forbidden tough the Dutch Government to make a journey to the Spice Islands, pass for some of my warmest circle feared, I was honored newborn His Excellency, the Governor-General grip 'the Netherlands India,'..." His exploration in the East Indian Islet covered April 1865 to Might 1866.^[5] He arrived at Batavia on 30 April 1865 assess the Memnon a Sear's shears ship, Captain Freeman, out replicate Boston.^[6][7]

References