Dr. William A. Davis (1908-1999) was an accomplished physician and avid birdwatcher. During World War II, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his service and was one of the first outside doctors to witness the conditions in the German concentration camps. After the war, he worked in the Veterans Administration Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado. In 1972 Dr. Davis was transferred to Tucson, Arizona to set up a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program at the local VA hospital. This life member of the American Ornithologists' Union retired from medicine in 1975 and began his studies of bird distribution. His interest in the interrelationships between birds and their habitats and migration patterns is vividly apparent in his collection of papers.
Dr. Davis was a very active member of the Tucson Audubon Society. In addition to serving as president from 1976-1979, He served as a field trip leader, speaker, committee chairman, newsletter columnist and vice president. He worked with Dr. Stephen Russell, another committed member of the society, on several projects including "Checklist of Birds of Southeastern Arizona" and the first (1979), second (1984) and third (1990) editions of Birds of Southeastern Arizona. Profits from this endeavor have gone exclusively to the Tucson Audubon Society. He died in Tucson at the age of 91.
From the guide to the William Davis papers, 1969-1994, (University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections)
