Grinnell, George Bird, 1849-1938

George Bird Grinnell was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on 20 Sept. 1849. His father prospered after the Civil War with a wholesale dry goods business. He eventually developed an investment firm in which he hoped his son would develop an interest. While a student at Yale University, however, young Grinnell went on a fossil and dinosaur expedition to the west led by Professor O.C. Marsh. By 1874 Grinnell dissolved the investment firm his father had founded and moved to New Haven, Conn., to work with Marsh at the Peabody Museum. In 1880 he earned a Ph.D. in paleontology. Thereafter Grinnell devoted his professional energies to the West, exploring its land, people, customs, birds, and animals. He wrote books and articles, explored the land, lobbied governments, and researched topics of importance to the conservation and preservation of the West. He convinced his father to invest in Field and Stream Magazine, which George edited from 1876 to 1911. In 1885 Grinnell visited for the first time the beautiful, glaciated part of northwest Montana. For decades he worked to preserve the area now known as Glacier National Park, which was officially established as a national park in 1910. George Bird Grinnell married Elizabeth Curtis Williams in 1902 and she convinced him to write about his early expeditions to the West (1870-1881) for their nieces and nephews. George Bird Grinell died in New York City on 11 Apr. 1938.

From the description of George Bird Grinnell papers, 1915-1921. (Montana Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 70972289

George Bird Grinnell (1849-1938) was an editor, author, explorer, naturalist, and conservationist. He received his Ph.D from Yale in 1880, and was at the Peabody Museum from 1874-80. He served as naturalist with General Custer's expedition to the Black Hills in 1874 and with Ludlow's expedition to Yellowstone Park in 1875. He was an active member in various scientific and conservationist organizations, wrote various books and articles, and was editor of the publication, Forest and stream, from 1876-1911.

From the description of Papers of George Bird Grinnell, 1879-1951 (bulk 1905-1934). (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 122354222

American naturalist and conservationist.

From the description of A buffalo hunt with the Pawnees : autograph manuscript signed "Ornis", [1872]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270950295

George Bird Grinnell was born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 20, 1849. He received his B.A. degree from Yale University in 1870 and did graduate work there under O. C. Marsh, receiving his Ph.D. in 1880. From 1876 until 1911 Grinnell was associated with Forest and Stream magazine, becoming editor-in-chief in 1880. Grinnell was active in several organizations instrumental in conserving the American West and protecting wildlife. He was also an authority on the Blackfeet, Cheyenne, and Pawnee Indians, and a prolific writer on Indian folklore and life, as well as on subjects relating to conservation. Grinnell died on April 11, 1938, in New York City.

From the description of George Bird Grinnell papers, 1859-1939 (inclusive), 1886-1929 (bulk). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702201188

Born in Brooklyn, New York on September 20, 1849. Received a B.A. and Ph. D. (1880) from Yale University. From 1876 to 1911 Grinnell was associated with Forest and Stream magazine, becoming editor-in-chief in 1880. Grinnell was active in several organizations instrumental in conserving the American West and preserving wildife. He was also an authority on the Blackfeet, Cheyenne and Pawnee Indians, and a prolific writer on Indian life and folklore, as well as subjects relating to conservation. He died April 1, 1938 in New York City.

From the description of Selected papers [microform] 1867-1923. (University of Montana, Mansfield Library). WorldCat record id: 42069406

George Bird Grinnell was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 20, 1849. He received his B.A. degree from Yale University in 1870 and did graduate work there under O. C. Marsh, receiving his Ph.D. in 1880. From 1876 until 1911 Grinnell was associated with Forest and Stream magazine, becoming editor-in-chief in 1880. Grinnell was active in several organizations instrumental in conserving the American West and protecting wildlife. He was also an authority on the Blackfeet, Cheyenne, and Pawnee Indians, and a prolific writer on Indian folklore and life, as well as on subjects relating to conservation. Grinnell died on April 11, 1938, in New York City.

From the description of George Bird Grinnell papers, 1859-1939 (inclusive), 1886-1929 (bulk). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122568554

Grinnell (1849-1938), a naturalist and conservationist, was born in New York City and graduated from Yale in 1870. In 1870 he joined an expedition for fossil-collecting in Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming and Utah under the protection of federal troops and Pawnee Indians. In 1874 he accompanied General George Custer's expedition to the Black Hills and Colonel William Ludlow's expedition into the Yellowstone Park area in 1875 as expedition naturalist. He also later explored areas of Montana, Alaska and British Columbia.

Grinnell returned to Yale to receive a Ph. D in 1880 and was the natural history editor and eventually the owner of "Forest and Stream" magazine from 1876-1911. Grinnell helped to found the Audubon Society in 1886 and in 1925 was elected president of the National Parks Association.

From the description of Papers, 1870-ca. 1895. (University of Wyoming, American Heritage Center). WorldCat record id: 33975345

Biography

George Bird Grinnell, editor, author, explorer and conservationist, was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 20, 1849. He studied at Yale University, where he took his doctorate in 1880, and was attached to the Peabody Museum from 1874 to 1880. In 1874 he served as naturalist with General Custer's expedition to the Black Hills, and in 1875 with Ludlow's expedition to Yellowstone Park. He accompanied the Harriman Alaska Expedition in 1899 in a similar capacity. An active member in a number of scientific and special interest organizations, he was especially interested in the New York Zoological Society, the American Ornithologists Union, the Audubon Society, the National Parks Association, and was a member of the Explorers' Club, the Authors' Club, and the Boone and Crockett Club. He was editor of Forest and Stream from 1876 to 1911, author of a number of books and articles on hunting, Indians, frontier life, camping and scouting, wild life, etc., and was editor and reviewer of many other publications. Grinnell died on April 11, 1938.

From the guide to the George Bird Grinnell Papers, 1879-1951, (bulk 1905-1934), (The Huntington Library)

An author, naturalist and explorer who was one of the nation's foremost advocates of game and forest conservation, George Bird Grinnell was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 20. 1849, the son of George Blake and Helen Lansing Grinnell. When he was seven his family moved to Audubon Park, a section of Washington Heights in which noted ornithologist James Audubon had his estate. Years later, Grinnell would be the organizer of the first Audubon Society.

Upon receiving his undergraduate degree from Yale University in 1870, Grinnell went west for six months with an expedition of the Peabody Museum at New Haven to collect vertebrate fossils. In 1874 General Custer invited him along as a naturalist on his expedition to the Black Hills.

Grinnell received a Ph.D. from Yale in 1880. His work, however, was concentrated mainly in the West where he became well versed on the Plains Indians, writing about the Blackfeet, the Cheyenne and the Pawnees. He wrote authoritative volumes also about game birds of America, particularly ducks, emphasizing the sharp decline in numbers and species. In his lifetime he wrote twenty-six books and edited eight more. From 1880 to 1911 he served as editor and president of Forest and Stream, a weekly periodical devoted to outdoor life. Grinnell co-founded the American Game Association in 1911 and was, at one time, chairman of the Council on National Parks, Forests and Wildlife. He was also affiliated with the National Parks association.

In addition, Grinnell was instrumental in the creation of Glacier National Park in Northwestern Montana, a reserve of one million acres of mountain country. The Grinnell Glacier in the St. Mary's Region in Montana, one of his discoveries, was named in his honor. Throughout his lifetime he wrote extensively in defense of preservation and conservation. An extensive traveler and explorer until well into his seventies, Grinnell suffered a heart attack at his home in New York in July of 1929. Although the initial prognosis was grim he recovered slowly. Age and persistent illness kept Grinnell in the East during his final years. He passed away on April 11, 1938 at the age of eighty-eight.

From the guide to the George Bird Grinnell Collection, 1870-1970, (Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library Archives and Special Collections)

George Bird Grinnell was born in Brooklyn, New York on September 20, 1849. He received his B.A. degree from Yale University in 1870 and did graduate work there under O. C. Marsh, receiving his Ph.D. in 1880. From 1876 until 1911 Grinnell was associated with "Forest and Stream" magazine, becoming editor-in-chief in 1880. Grinnell was active in several organizations instrumental in conserving the American West and protecting wildlife. He was also an authority on the Blackfeet, Cheyenne, and Pawnee Indians, and a prolific writer on Indian folklore and life, as well as on subjects relating to conservation. Grinnell died on April 11, 1938, in New York City.

For more information, consult: Dictionary of American Biography, Vol XXII, Supplement Two., or see additional information available in the repository.

From the guide to the George Bird Grinnell papers, 1859-1939, (Manuscripts and Archives)