Page:Men of Mark in America vol 2.djvu/321

 ROBERT RIDGWAY IDGWAY, ROBERT, ornithologist, has always been irresistibly attracted by out-of-door life. The love of nature, and especially of birds, was the dominant trait of his early boyhood, as it is of his later years. His impulse to observe birds with loving interest, and the scientific study he has given to the subject have made him an authority on bird-lore of all kinds. His life and work show the value of a strong bent in childhood as a guide to the best development of one's powers.

He was born in Mt. Carmel, Illinois, July 2, 1850. He says his "father was a lover of nature and well- versed in wood-craft," and his "mother sympathetic and helpful." Brought up in part in a village, he would have been pleased to live in the country as it had especial charm for him. As a boy he was strong, and there were few kinds of manual labor which he did not do. The attractions of out-of-door life for him were so strong that he feels he did not take advantage of the educational opportunities afforded him, for his schooling ended in his sixteenth year. For the spring and summer of 1865, he was occupied as a teamster. From 1867-69, as ornithologist and ornithological artist he accompanied the United States Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel, and did field-work in California, Nevada, Idaho and Utah. He has been curator of the United States National Museum since 1880. For many years he has been vice-president of the American Ornithologists' Union, and for two terms its president. He is a Republican in politics. While not a member of any church, he says, "I am a Christian in my religious beliefs." He enjoys gunning, walking, or driving in the country and horticultural gardening. Strongest in its influence on his life was his love of nature, inherited from both parents, and home influences and surroundings prepared him for contact with men of science. He says, "a more thorough education would have been most helpful"; and he would have every aspiring young naturalist bear constantly in mind that "only thorough, conscientious work will count in the end." He has received the degree of Master of Sciences from the State University of Indiana.