February 19: The Bird Man of Panama

Eugene Eisenmann, a Harvard-trained attorney who retired from law at 51 to become one of the world’s leading ornithologists, was born in Panama on this date in 1906. In 1957, Eisenmann became a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, a position he held until his death in 1981. He was the author of 150 papers on ornithology, as well as The Species of Middle American Birds, which listed more than 1,400 species. He was also coauthor of The Species of Birds of South America. Eisenmann travelled annually to Panama to visit family and conduct his research. The Linnaean Society of New York gives an annual Eisenmann award for ornithology, and the Fundación Avifauna Eugene Eisenmann (Eisenmann Bird Foundation) was established in Panama in 2000 to protect birds and their habitat.

“[E]xtraordinary generosity with his knowledge and time was one of Gene’s most remarkable traits.” François Vuilleumier, American Museum of Natural History