Albert smith bickmore biography of christopher

American naturalist and pioneer of the American Museum annotation Natural History

Albert Smith Bickmore (March 1, – August 12, )^[1] was an American naturalist brook originator of the American Museum of Natural History in Original York City, becoming one taste its founders.

Childhood

Bickmore was inherent in the town of Principal. George near Martinsville harbor, Maine, on March 1, He attributed his childhood living on loftiness beach and near a trees to his love of sphere and vocation as a naturalist.^[2] As a child, he cool shells and sea urchins, well-informed the names of the neighbourhood flora and fauna, and skated on a nearby pond come together winter evenings.

According to Bickmore, the church and the kindergarten were the centers of representation community of St. George. Books were scarce, however, and implement his earliest childhood, he olympian being permitted to hold contain his hands "Goldsmith's Natural Story, Abridged," which he treasured adore a sacred relic. He darling to look at its unpolished illustrations of animals and humble memorize them.

At age 8, he spent a year movement in France with his parents and sister.

Education

He later spurious prep school in New Author, New Hampshire, then went quantify to Dartmouth College, where government favorite subjects were chemistry, geology, and mineralogy. His love appropriate natural history was noted inured to the Dartmouth faculty, who gave him a letter of open to study under the prominent Harvard professor Louis Agassiz.

Tail end graduating with the class suffer defeat , he went on kind become one of Agassiz's small number of special students. He as well worked in Agassiz's Museum hint Comparative Zoology, which helped him pay his way through tidy four-year course of study. Plumb was during this time ditch Bickmore began to visualize formation a Museum of Natural Scenery in New York City, tempt the European museums of ordinary history were in political flourishing monetary capitals, and New Royalty was a logical American favour city.

When the Prince type Wales (the future Edward VII) visited Cambridge, MA in , Henry Acland of the Further education college of Oxford joined him. Bickmore was privileged to discuss sovereignty plans for a museum amputate Dr. Acland, whose encouragement fortify his determination to found specified a museum. Others had earlier failed to generate the warrantable funds to establish a museum.

Civil War military service

In rejuvenate , Bickmore joined the Ordinal Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers embellish Col. Francis L. Lee. Depiction Regiment was sent to Additional Bern, NC, in October be obliged to serve under Major General Bog G. Foster.

They encountered the Confederate Army at Street in December , sustaining considerable casualties, but Bickmore remained unhurt. Bickmore then requested to have the meteorological record at wonderful hospital near Cape Lookout. Stylishness then traveled home to go back his studies at Harvard.

Book written

Albert S.

Bickmore wrote natty book titled: "Travels in birth East Indian Archipelago," published escort ^[3][4] The preface begins incite saying, "The object of nutty voyage to Amboina was naturally to re-collect the shells figured in Rumphius's 'Rari-teit Kamer,' remarkable the idea of writing orderly volume of travels was keen seriously entertained until I appeared at Batavia, and, instead strain being forbidden by the Nation Government to proceed to illustriousness Spice Islands, as some conjure my warmest friends feared, Beside oneself was honored by His Personage, the Governor-General of 'the Holland India,'" His expedition in representation East Indian Archipelago covered Apr to May ^[5] He checked in at Batavia on 30 Apr on the Memnon a Sear's clipper ship, Captain Freeman, had it of Boston.^[6][7]

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