THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
Richmond, though suffering almost constantly from malaria, collected such specimens 
as he could, but in December developed a badly infected tooth, which ulcerated through 
the cheek, externally. There was no dentist nearer than at one of the cities on the west 
side of the country, and a visit there would be long and costly, so he decided to accompany 
the remaining member of the expedition back to Washington. The original party had 
sailed from New York at 6 a.m., January 19th, 1892, and by a coincidence the two 
remaining members sailed out of Bluefields Bluff at 6 p.m., January 19th, 1893. A week 
later they were in Washington, where Richmond found that several of his friends had 
begun the study of medicine, and decided to join them. He spent the summer in preparing 
for the entrance examination, and realized enough from the sale of specimens to begin the 
course. In the meantime, he made application for a position in the National Museum, 
and in May, 1893, was appointed a watchman for duty in the telephone room at night, the 
chief clerk explaining that if he once got on the rolls of the Museum it would be easier to 
transfer him to a more suitable place. In a few months he was detailed to the Division 
of Mammals, and on July 1st, 1894, was designated as “ Assistant on the Scientific Staff,” 
and ordered to report to Mr. Ridgway. The latter had been directed to prepare a report 
on the " Birds of North and Middle America,” and Assistant Secretary G. Brown Goode 
told Richmond to relieve him as much as possible of the routine work and office duties of 
the Division of Birds. *' 
Mr. Ridgway, being the expert on American birds, left the remainder of the world 
free for Richmond to browse in, and this direction he followed as opportunity offered, 
emplojdng his odd time, chiefly at home, with his card catalogue of generic and specific 
names of birds, a work he had begun when he was employed in the Biological Survey. This 
line of investigation lead him into a study of the dates of publication and contents of parts 
of works, and into other details. He examined a great mass of publications in the 
Washington libraries, and in the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and else¬ 
where, in search of clues to these subjects. Incidentally he became a searcher for rare 
books not found in the local libraries, and succeeded in obtaining not a few of them. 
Richmond was elected a Fellow of the American Ornithologists* Union in 1897, and 
earlier in the same year had graduated in medicine at Georgetown University. He had 
by this time been relieved from helping out the family income, and plunged into 
matrimony, marrying Miss Louise H. Seville in 1898, with whom he still lives in entire amity. 
For some years he served as an unofficial secretary of the Committee on Classification 
and Nomenclature of the American Ornithologists’ Union, and in 1901 became a member 
of the committee, continuing to date. 
From 1894 to 1918 was Assistant Curator, Division of Birds, then Associate Curator, 
a position he still holds. 
In 1900, with Dr. L. Stejneger, he made a brief collecting visit to Porto Rico, gathering 
natural history material and enjoying an attack of dengue fever. This was his last field 
work. 
Has published about 115 papers and short notes, almost all of them on birds, dates 
of publication, and similar matters. 
Is a member of several scientific societies, including the British Ornithologists’ Union 
(Honorary Member), etc. 
vni. 
