C. Hart Merriam |
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1855-1942
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- U.S. biologist,
chief of the U.S. Biological Survey.
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- Merriam first
described many genera and species of North American mammals and
plants. From 1910 through 1939, he was a research associate of
the Smithsonian Institution under the E.H. Harriman trust fund.
His studies laid the foundation for the Life Zones concept of biogeographical
elevation gradients. He also was interested in the linguistics
and mythology of Pacific Coast Indians. He published several books
and some 400 scientific papers.
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- Muir met Merriam
on the Harriman Alaska Expedition (1899), and they became life-long
friends and correspondents.
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