Robert Ridgway
Robert Ridgway (July 2, 1850 – March 25, 1929) was an American
ornithologist specializing in
systematics. He was appointed in 1880 by
Spencer Fullerton Baird, secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution, to be the first full-time curator of birds at the
United States National Museum, a title he held until his death. In 1883, he helped found the
American Ornithologists' Union, where he served as officer and journal editor. Ridgway was an outstanding descriptive
taxonomist, capping his life work with ''The Birds of North and Middle America'' (eight volumes, 1901–1919). In his lifetime, he was unmatched in the number of North American bird species that he
described for science. As
technical illustrator, Ridgway used his own paintings and outline drawings to complement his writing. He also published two books that systematized color names for describing birds, ''A Nomenclature of Colors for Naturalists'' (1886) and ''Color Standards and Color Nomenclature'' (1912). Ornithologists all over the world continue to cite Ridgway's color studies and books.
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