Joseph Grinnell

Joseph Grinnell
Joseph Grinnell in 1901
Born	(1877-02-27)February 27, 1877 Indian Territory near Fort Sill, Oklahoma
Died	May 29, 1939(1939-05-29) (aged 62) Berkeley, California, US
Education	Pasadena HS, Throop Polytechnic, Stanford
Alma mater	Throop Polytechnic Institute (BS) Stanford University (MS, PhD)
Known for	Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Director 1908–1939 Editor of The Condor 1906–1939
Spouse	Hilda Wood Grinnell
Children	Willard, Stuart, Richard and Mary Elizabeth
Scientific career
Fields	Zoology
Institutions	Throop Polytechnic Institute Museum of Vertebrate Zoology University of California, Berkeley
Thesis	An account of the mammals and birds of the lower Colorado Valley, with especial reference to the distributional problems presented (1913)
Doctoral advisor	Charles Henry Gilbert
Doctoral students	Ian McTaggart-Cowan, E. Raymond Hall, Robert T. Orr
Signature

Joseph Grinnell (February 27, 1877 – May 29, 1939) was an American field biologist and zoologist. He made extensive studies of the fauna of California, and is credited with introducing a method of recording precise field observations known as the Grinnell System.^[1] He served as the first director of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley from the museum's inception in 1908 until his death.^[2]

He edited The Condor, a publication of the Cooper Ornithological Club, from 1906 to 1939, and authored many articles for scientific journals and ornithological magazines. He wrote several books, among them The Distribution of the Birds of California and Animal Life in the Yosemite.^[3] He also developed and popularized the concept of the niche.^[4]