Spencer Fullerton Baird, Curator, Smithsonian Inst.

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Spencer Fullerton Baird, Curator, Smithsonian Inst.'s Geni Profile

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Spencer Fullerton Baird

Birthdate:
Birthplace: Reading, Berks, Pennsylvania, United States
Death: August 19, 1887 (64)
Woods Hole, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States
Place of Burial: Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Immediate Family:

Son of Samuel Potts Baird and Lydia McFunn Baird
Husband of Mary Helen Baird
Father of Lucy Hunter Fullerton Baird
Brother of Lydia Spencer Baird; William McFunn Baird; Samuel Baird; Rebecca Potts Baird and Mary Deborah Biddle

Occupation: naturalist, secretary of The Smithsonian
Managed by: Private User
Last Updated:

About Spencer Fullerton Baird, Curator, Smithsonian Inst.

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 which he increased from 6,000 specimens in 1850 to over 2 million by the time of his death.

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Spencer Fullerton Baird, Curator, Smithsonian Inst.'s Timeline

1823
February 3, 1823
Reading, Berks, Pennsylvania, United States
1848
February 8, 1848
Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States
1887
August 19, 1887
Age 64
Woods Hole, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States
August 1887
Age 64
Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, District of Columbia, United States