Roger Tory Peterson

Today is the anniversary of the death of naturalist Roger Tory Peterson, who wrote Guide to the Birds and edited or wrote many of the Peterson Field Guides. He and James Fisher co-wrote Wild America, the description of their trip around America.

He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980. There is a short biography here. The National Wildlife Federation has a tribute article. The Harvard Museum of Natural History awards an annual medal named for him.

8/8/2008 is the centennial of Peterson's birth, and The Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History is hosting a special exhibit and activities to celebrate. The Institute's mission

is to continue the legacy of Roger Tory Peterson by promoting the teaching and study of nature, and thereby to create knowledge of and appreciation and responsibility for the natural world.