George Suckley

Who was George Suckley?

George Suckley was an American physician and naturalist notable as an explorer of the Washington and Oregon territories in the 1850s, and describer of several new fish species.

He was born in New York City, and studied at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, receiving an M.D. in 1851, and subsequently serving as surgeon at New York Hospital.

In 1853 he joined the Pacific Railroad Survey led by Isaac Stevens, and in 1856 resigned from the United States Army to pursue natural history full-time, publishing several works on the life of the Pacific Northwest.

Upon the outbreak of the American Civil War, Suckley rejoined the Army, and worked as a surgeon throughout the war. He died in New York City a few years after the war.

Two fish species, Squalus suckleyi Girard 1855, and Catostomus sucklii Girard 1856, are named after George Suckley.