Dr. Yochelson has given us a charming book, full of 

 fascinating anecdotes and his own dry wit. He would 

 be the first to point out that it is written from his own 

 perspective as a personal chronicle. He was not asked 

 to write an official history, and the book should not be 

 read on that assumption. Many, but by no means all, 

 of the guiding figures in the Museum's history appear 

 in these pages, and the author does not pretend to 

 emphasize each in proportion to his or her importance. 

 It was never our intention that the book would incor- 

 porate all employees past or present, and Ellis has had 

 complete freedom to emphasize personalities as he saw 

 fit. In a companion volume to this book, the pictorial 

 Directory published in March 1985, all present NMNH 

 staff and associated employees— about 1,250 — are fea- 

 tured. 



I am indebted to many persons for their help in 

 making this book possible, including some, no doubt, 

 of whom I am unaware. Certain persons deserve special 

 mention. Without the full cooperation of Richard Z. 

 Poore, Chief of the Geological Survey's Branch of Pa- 

 leontology and Stratigraphy, this book never could have 

 been written by Dr. Yochelson, a U.S.G.S. employee 

 under his charge. Many present staff members re- 

 viewed all or parts of the manuscript. I am grateful to 

 the departmental chairmen for soliciting these reviews. 

 The chairmen at the time were: Robert F. Piidali (Min- 

 eral Sciences), W. Ronald Heyer (Vertebrate Zoology), 



Leslie W. Knapp (Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting 

 Center). Mark M. Littler (Botany), Ian G. Macintyre 

 (Paleobiology), Wayne N. Mathis (Entomology), Clyde 

 F. E. Roper (Invertebrate Zoology), and Douglas H. 

 Ubelaker (Anthropology). Especially detailed and thor- 

 ough reviews were prepared by Frederick M. Bayer, 

 Fenner A. Chace, Jr., Joseph Ewan, Pamela M. Henson, 

 Karl V. Krombein, Curtis W. Sabrosky, and Victor G. 

 Springer. Essential technical work in the preparation 

 of the final copy was performed by Anne Curtis, Bar- 

 bara Gautier, T. Gary Gautier, Ella Giesey, Carole Lee 

 Kin, and Joan B. Miles. Patricia Geeson, Victor E. Krantz, 

 and James H. Wallace, Jr., rendered indispensable help 

 in the process of gathering pictures for the book. Ann 

 Rossilli designed the Diamond Jubilee logo. 



Finally, I am especially indebted to Stanwyn G. She- 

 tier, Assistant Director for Programs, for reviewing the 

 entire manuscript in detail and guiding the book through 

 the many stages of editing to publication on my behalf; 

 to Mary Jarrett, for her painstaking and exemplary 

 final editing of the book; to Hope G. Pantell of the 

 Smithsonian Institution Press, for her vital editorial 

 guidance during production; and to Christopher Jones, 

 for his pleasing design of the book. 



Richard S. Fiske, Director 



National Museum of Natural History 



Smithsonian Institution 



July 1985 



1 



Foreword 



7 



