Frank B. Gill

Who is Frank B. Gill?

Frank Bennington Gill is an American ornithologist with worldwide research interests and birding experience. He is perhaps best known as the author of the textbook Ornithology, the leading textbook in the field.

Gill was raised in Teaneck, New Jersey. He reported that he became interested in birds at the age of seven, when his grandfather, Frank Rockingham Downing, showed him a Song Sparrow at a birdbath. This was the first time he had seen a bird through binoculars, "and I was hooked."

After Gill received his PhD in Zoology from the University of Michigan in 1969, he joined the ornithology department at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. From 1969-1995, Gill was a full-time staff member of the Academy, where he held various positions throughout his tenure, including that of Chairman for the Department of Ornithology and Vice President for Systematics and Evolutionary Biology. During his time at the Academy, Gill was instrumental in reestablishing the Academy's position as one of the leading centers of American ornithological research.