Olin Sewall Pettingill Jr.
American naturalist, author and filmmaker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Olin Sewall Pettingill Jr. [a] (October 30, 1907 – December 11, 2001) was an American naturalist, author and filmmaker, president of the Wilson Ornithological Society from 1948 to 1950,[2] a member of the board of directors of the National Audubon Society from 1955 to 1974,[1] and a Life Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union.[1]
Olin Sewall Pettingill Jr. | |
|---|---|
Sewall Pettingill and wife, Eleanor | |
| Born | October 30, 1907 Belgrade, Maine, U.S. |
| Died | December 11, 2001 (aged 94) Bedford, Texas, U.S. |
| Education | Bowdoin College Cornell University University of Michigan |
| Known for | Ornithology |
| Awards | Ludlow Griscom Award, Eisenmann Medal |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biology |
| Workplaces | Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology |
Early life
Born October 30, 1907, in Belgrade, Maine, Pettingill attended Bowdoin College, where he developed an interest in ornithology.[1] Studying under zoologist Alfred O. Gross, Pettingill conducted studies of the last three heath hens on Martha's Vineyard in 1927 with Gross and Thornton Burgess.[1]
In 1928, Pettingill enrolled in the University of Michigan, then attended graduate school at Cornell University starting in 1930 – joining the AOU in the same year – where he conducted a PhD dissertation on the American woodcock.[1]
Career
Appointed a delegate to the 12th and 14th International Ornithological Congresses,[1] Pettingill was appointed Director of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in 1960, a position he held until his retirement in 1973,[1] and provided footage for four Walt Disney nature films, including the Academy Award-winning The Vanishing Prairie,[1] in addition to making several ornithological films of his own, including works on albatrosses, penguins, and the wildlife of island nations, which often aired as part of Audubon Screen Tours.[3]
Tenured at Carleton College for 17 years,[1] Pettingill taught at the University of Michigan Biological Station for 35 years.[1] Pettingill was awarded birding's highest honor, the Ludlow Griscom Award, in 1982,[1] and also received Cornell's Arthur A. Allen Medal in 1974, and the Eisenmann Medal in 1985.[1] Holding three honorary doctorates in science,[1] Pettingill appeared on both The Today Show and To Tell the Truth.[1]
Death
Pettingill died December 11, 2001, in Bedford, Texas, aged 94.[1]
Works
- Books
- Ornithology in Laboratory and Field, 1939 (2nd edition, 1946;[4] 3rd edition, 1956;[5] 4th edition, 1970; 5th edition, 1985); 2013 pbk reprint of 4th edition
- A Guide to Finding Birds East of the Mississippi, 1951
- A Guide to Finding Birds West of the Mississippi, 1953
- Enjoying Maine Birds, 1960
- Enjoying Birds in Upstate New York, 1963
- Enjoying Birds around New York City, 1966
- The Audubon Illustrated handbook of American Birds, editor-in-chief, 1968.
- The Bird Watcher's America, editor, 1974[6]
- Another Penguin Summer, 1975[7]
- My Way to Ornithology, 1992[8]
- Films
- Nature's Half Acre, 1951
- Water Birds, 1952
- The Vanishing Prairie, 1954
- Islands of the Sea, 1960
