Oliver L. Austin

Who was Oliver L. Austin?

Oliver Luther Austin Jr. was an ornithologist who wrote the definitive study Birds of the World, eventually published in seven languages. At various times he was Director of the Austin Ornithological Research Center in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, Professor of Zoology at Air University and Curator of Ornithology at the Florida Museum of Natural History. At the time of his death, he was Curator Emeritus.

In 1931 he was elected to the American Ornithologists' Union and was the editor of their journal The Auk from 1968 to 1977.

Austin grew up in Mt. Vernon, New York and attended A. B. Davis High School and the Berkshire School. While in high school he was a member of the orchestra, glee club and the Rho Chapter of the Omega Gamma Delta Fraternity and played football. He was a graduate of Wesleyan University, where he was a member of the Phi Nu Theta Fraternity, and had a PhD from Harvard University. After serving in the US Navy in World War II he went to Japan. He worked there in the Allied Military Government.

In addition to Birds of the World, among his nine books, he wrote famous studies of birds in both Japan and the Republic of Korea.