Spencer Fullerton Baird

Who was Spencer Fullerton Baird?

Spencer Fullerton Baird was an American naturalist, ornithologist, ichthyologist, herpetologist, and museum curator. Baird was the first curator to be named at the Smithsonian Institution. He would eventually serve as the second Secretary of the Smithsonian, from 1878 until 1887. He published over 1,000 works during his lifetime. He was dedicated to expanding the natural history collections of the Smithsonian and upon his death, had done so by expanding the collection from 6,000 specimens in 1850 to over 2 million upon his death.