Happy Birthday to George Gaylord Simpson

Today would have been the 114th birthday of George Gaylord Simpson had he lived to that implausible age. Simpson is well known for his paleontological research and his role in formulating the “new synthesis” of evolution. Although much of his work focused on fossil mammals, Simpson also collected and studied fossil penguins. His initial foray into the world penguins was by his own account accidental. Simpson traveled to Argentina several times in the 1930s to collect fossils and brought back a large number of penguin specimens. No bird experts at the American Museum of Natural History wanted to undertake a study of the material, so Simpson himself took up the reigns and wrote a monograph succinctly titled “Fossil Penguins” in 1946. This sparked a long term interest in fossil penguins that brought him to investigate collections throughout the Southern Hemisphere, identifying many new species and revising the taxonomic arrangement of the group. My own work on fossil penguins was kindled by Simpson’s legacy. As a graduate student at the American Museum of Natural History, I had the chance to examine the specimens he collected in Argentina, prodding the ancient bones with new methods that had existed in the mid-century such as CT-scanning and advanced microscopy. One of the amazing experiences about working in museums is you quite literally get to walk in the footsteps of legends, reading hand-written field notes (which in the case of Simpson often mix meticulous outcrop maps with witty remarks).

Aside from his many scholarly publications, Simpson wrote the popular book “Penguins: Past and Present, Here and There” in which he chronicled discoveries of living penguins and fossil penguins, including both historical events and penguin encounters from his own adventures. There is a quote near the end of the book that is simply delightful:

“What good are penguins?” It may be crass to ask what good a wild animal is, but I do think the question may be legitimate. That depends on what you mean by good.  If you mean “good to eat,” you are perhaps being stupid.  If you mean “good to hunt,” you are surely being vicious.  If  you mean “good as it is good in itself to be a living creature enjoying life,”  you are not being  crass, stupid, or vicious.  I agree with you and I am your brother as  well as the penguin’s.”