Charles B. Cory | |
|---|---|
_(18244549160)_(cropped).jpg) | |
| Born | (1857-01-31)January 31, 1857 Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| Died | July 31, 1921(1921-07-31) (aged 64) |
| Education | Boston University,Harvard University |
| Known for | Large collection of birds |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Ornithologist |
| Institutions | The Field Museum, Chicago |
| Author abbrev. (zoology) | Cory |
Charles Barney Cory (January 31, 1857 – July 31, 1921) was an Americanornithologist,golfer, outdoorsman, and author.
Cory was born inBoston, Massachusetts. His father had made a fortune from a large import business, ensuring that his son never had to work. At the age of sixteen Cory developed an interest inornithology and began a skin collection. Due to his ability to travel anywhere he wished, this soon became the best collection of birds of theCaribbean and theGulf of Mexico in existence.
In February 1876, the nineteen year old Cory was elected a member ofNuttall Ornithological Club, America's first ornithological organization. It was here that he met the leading ornithologists of Massachusetts at the time, such asWilliam Brewster,Henry Henshaw,Ruthven Deane,Charles Johnson Maynard, withJoel Asaph Allen soon to join as well.[1]
Starting in 1876, he briefly attendedHarvard and theBoston University School of Law but soon left to continue his travelling. In 1877, he went collecting in Florida, followed by a trip to theMagdalen Islands in 1878, and another to theBahamas the next year. In 1880, he collected in Europe, and then he returned to the West Indies in 1881.[1]
In 1883, he was one of the forty-eight ornithologists invited to become founders of theAmerican Ornithologists' Union and one of those who attended the founding convention inNew York City.[2] The next year he visited theDakota Territory and Montana with his friend,Martin A. Ryerson, to collect specimen. The rest of the 1880s saw him inCuba,Mexico, andCanada.[1] In 1887, Cory was made the curator of birds at theBoston Society of Natural History.
In 1882, Cory purchased Great Island inWest Yarmouth, Massachusetts as a summer retreat andgame preserve, and set about the restoration of itsPoint Gammon Light as an ornithological observatory.[3][4][5] While summering there onCape Cod, Cory entertained dignitaries such asPresident Grover Cleveland,[6] and frequently sponsored community sporting and cultural events.[7][8][9]
From 1888 to 1892, he and friendCharles Richard Crane funded and played on theHyannis town team in what is now theCape Cod Baseball League. At Cory and Crane's expense, various well-known professional and amateur players were brought in to play alongside the Hyannis locals. In 1888, Cory outfitted his club in "suits which were of the best white flannel and red stockings,"[10] and secured the services of pitcherDick Conway and catcherMert Hackett, both formerly of the major leagueBoston Beaneaters.[11][12] In 1889, Cory brought back Hackett, and also enlistedBarney Gilligan, who had played for the1884 major league championProvidence Grays.[13][14][15] After the 1891 season, Cory published an extendedode to his ballclub in the style ofErnest Thayer'sCasey at the Bat.[16]
When Cory's collection of 19,000 bird specimens became too large to keep in his house he donated them toThe Field Museum inChicago, and he was given the position of Curator of Ornithology. Cory's collection of 600 ornithological volumes were purchased byEdward E. Ayer in 1894, and in turn donated to the museum.[17] Cory lost his entire fortune in 1906, and took a salaried position at the museum as Curator of Zoology, remaining there for the rest of his life. Cory made routine collecting trips in Florida and the West Indies. He sometimes financed trips for other naturalists.
Cory was a director in many corporations.[18]
Cory wrote many books, includingThe Birds ofHaiti andSan Domingo (1885),The Birds of theWest Indies (1889) andThe Birds ofIllinois andWisconsin (1909). His last major work was the four-partCatalogue of Birds of the Americas, two of which were completed after his death byCarl Edward Hellmayr; Hellmayr later extended the series to 15 parts.
Cory was the first person to describeCory's shearwater as a species. It had previously been described byGiovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1769, but he had believed it to be a race of anothershearwater.[citation needed]
Cory participated in the1904 Summer Olympics as a golfer. He competed in theindividual event but did not finish.[19]
