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 eventually served as assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian from 1850 to 1878, and as Secretary from 1878 until 1887. 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. He also served as the U.S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries from 1871 to 1887 and published over 1,000 works during his lifetime.
Spencer Fullerton Baird, as photographed by William Bell, 1867
Baird with his wife and daughter in Wood's Hole, Massachusetts. It was at Wood's Hole that Baird gained interest in ichthyology.
Mausoleum at Oak Hill Cemetery containing remains of Baird
Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of October 2016, with approximately 250 new species described each year.
Fish represent approximately 8% of all figurative depictions on Mimbres pottery.
Frontispiece from Ichthyologia, sive Opera Omnia de Piscibus by Peter Artedi
Image: Male whale shark at Georgia Aquarium
Image: Paedocypris progenetica 001