| The Magazine of the CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES |
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Life on the Edge In Search of the Wild West The California Academy of Sciences is...one of the most permanent, as well as one of the most beneficent institutions on the Pacific Coast. It has taken. . .a prominent place among the learned societies of the United States and the world." Those words were written by Theodore Hittell 100 years ago on the occasion of the Academy's fiftieth anniversary. Located in what was so recently a wilderness, the Academy exemplified the evolution of the chaotic lawless town into an organized city that could house one of the most organized and scientifically respected establishments in the country. Frontiers attract not just those in search of riches or the visceral thrills of adventure. They also beckon seekers of new knowledge, discoverers of new truths. Such was the case of the seven men who gathered in an office off the wooden sidewalks of Montgomery Street to create what they called "an association for the development of the natural sciences." It took another 23 years before the collection of plants, animals, rocks, fossils, shells, and indigenous artifacts swelled to a size worthy of being a public museum. Nearly fifty years later an aquarium was added. And, after another quarter of a century, a fourth player, the planetarium, joined the trio. Today, the Academy plays upon the world's stage. Scholars, researchers, and an inquisitive public come from all over the globe. The Academy's scientists, who long ago broke away from the confines of the West, now scour the most distant places on Earth in search of species that hold clues to the evolution of life. Their work is part of a tradition that began with the discoveries presented at the Academy's first meeting and which will continue far into the future. Many of the species collected today may not be scrutinized for decades. We have chosen to tell the story of the Academy through the lives and achievements of a few of its colorful personalities. Among the enthusiastic amateurs who joined early on was West Coast surveyor George Davidson. Davidson began his career as a geologist, but went on to make his mark as a surveyor of the stars. Soon afterwards, the diminutive Alice Eastwood was hired as curator of botany. An iron fist in a velvet glove, she ran her department for the next 50 years, and played a critical role in relocating the Academy to Golden Gate Park. G Dallas Hanna, a paleontologist who specialized in diatoms, became, like Davidson, an enthusiast of astronomy. After being drawn by World War II into fine-tuning optical instruments for the navy, he proceeded to design the worldÕs most advanced star projector. The charismatic Earl Herald put Steinhart Aquarium squarely on the map. And as host of "Science in Action," he was a pioneer in broadcasting science on television. His contemporary, Academy Director George Lindsay, was the force responsible for the Academy's rapid expansion. The most catastrophic event in the Academy's history was, appropriately, a natural disaster. The 1906 earthquake destroyed most of the collected artifacts, and the fire that followed engulfed most of the rest. Fortunately, at the time of the quake, a group of scientists sponsored by the Academy were in the Galápagos Islands investigating and collecting that archipelago's unique wildlife. The treasures they brought back formed the nucleus of a new collection, while their journey began a close and enduring association between the islands and the Academy. Today, 147 years after the Academy's president was shot down in broad daylight on a San Francisco street, it is not the wildness of California's inhabitants, but its habitats that we miss the most. As the Academy moves into its next incarnation, it will bring with it a long history of respect and admiration for the natural world. That admiration now translates into concern for its future. Keith K. Howell is Editor of California Wild. |