Grinnell, George Bird

Grinnell, George Bird (grənĕl`), 1849–1938, American naturalist and student of Native American life, b. Brooklyn, N.Y., grad. Yale (B.A., 1870; Ph.D., 1880). He accompanied Custer's Black Hills expedition as naturalist (1874), was with William Ludlow's expedition to Yellowstone Park (1875), and was a member of the Harriman Alaska expedition in 1899. He was editor (1876–1911) of Forest and Stream and was prominent in preservation of wildlife and in conservation movements. He organized the first Audubon Society and was an organizer of the New York Zoological Society. In 1885 he discovered the glacier in Montana that now bears his name and was influential in legislation that led to the establishment (1910) of Glacier National Park. He is best known, however, for his books on the Plains culture area, such as Pawnee Hero Stories (1889), The Story of the Indian (1895), The Fighting Cheyennes (1915), and The Cheyenne Indians (1923).

Bibliography

See his selected papers ed. by J. F. Reiger (1972).

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Grinnell, George Bird (1849–1938) naturalist, author; born in Brooklyn, N.Y. An 1870 Yale graduate, he worked as a banker for four years before joining a Black Hills expedition (led by Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer) as a naturalist. In 1876 he became an editor with Forest and Stream magazine; as editor-in-chief from 1880–1911, he made it the country's leading natural history journal. A founder of the Audubon Society (1886) and the New York Zoological Society, he tirelessly promoted national parks and wildlife preserves. Glacier National Park (1910) was created owing largely to his efforts. He published several books on Indian lore, hunting, and natural history, as well as a series for boys about the outdoors.