Ornithology, Evolution, and Philosophy

The young naturalist in Germany. Childhood and youth. The family. Birdwatching. The duck with a red bill. University student in Greifswald and Berlin. Friendships at school and university.- The budding scientist. PhD thesis and examination. The influence of teachers. Erwin Stresemann – teacher and friend. Assistant curator at the Museum of Natural History in Berlin. Expeditions to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.- Ornithologist in New York. The New York years (1931 – 1953). Emigration to the United States and life in New York City. Curator of ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History. Ornithologist and zoogeographer. Birds of Oceania. Birds of Australia, the Malay Archipelago, and SE Asia. Descriptions of new species and subspecies of birds. Zoogeography.- Biological species and speciation – Mayr’s first synthesis. A modern unified theory of evolution. Community architect.- Life in New York during World War II. New York City and Tenafly, New Jersey. Cold Spring Harbor (1943 – 1952). Citizenship.- Professor of Zoology at Harvard University. The Harvard years (1953 – 2005). Teaching and PhD students. Director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Evolutionary biology – Mayr’s second synthesis. Overviews of evolutionary biology. Integrated gene complexes versus beanbag genetics. Animal Species and Evolution. Behavior and evolution. Particular topics of evolutionary biology.-Ernst Mayr – The man. Personality and general views. Health. The farm near Wilton, New Hampshire. Residence in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Advisor to the National Academy of Sciences and the NSF. National and international recognition.- Systematics and classification. Diversity. Classification. Zoological nomenclature.- History and philosophy of biology – Mayr’s third synthesis. History of biology. Philosophy of biology.-