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REUBEN M. STRONG, M.D. — 1872-1964 
With the deepest regret, we announce the death of Dr. R. M. Strong, 
honorary president of the Illinois Audubon Society, of a heart attack in 
Petoskey, Mich., on August 11, 1964. He was living at his summer home 
in Bay View, Mich., at the time of his death. Burial was at Bay View; on 
Saturday, Sept. 12, a Memorial Service was held in the United Church 
of Hyde Park and attended by many of his family and Chicago-area 
friends. 
Dr. Strong was probably the foremost ornithologist-conservationist 
in the Middle West. His achievements and his work in the field of natural 
history spanned two centuries. In 1888, he and a group of other young 
men founded the Wilson Ornithological Society. He served as first treas- 
urer of that group, and was its president from 1894 to 190i, and again 
in 1923-24. For many years he was its sole surviving founder. He was 
also a Fellow of the American Ornithologist’s Union. 
Dr. Strong was President of the Illinois Audubon Society for ten years 
until 1951, when he became honorary president. He acted as the official 
representative of the Society at the Chicago Natural History Museum until 
just a year ago, when his wife’s last illness forced him to curtail his 
activities. He established the Chicago Conservation Council over 25 years 
ago and served as its chairman until his death. 
Although he contributed much to the science of ornithology, Dr. 
Strong's vocation was as a doctor of medicine. He joined the faculty of 
the University of Chicago in 1903, teaching anatomy and ornithology. 
His teaching career included the faculties of ten colleges and universities. 
He founded the school of medicine in 1918 at Loyola University, first as 
professor of anatomy and later as head of the department until 1946. In 
1957 he was given a special citation by Samuel Cardinal Stritch as one 
of the hundred most outstanding citizens of Chicago. 
After his retirement in 1946, Dr. Strong became a research associate 
in anatomy at the Chicago Natural History Museum. In addition to many 
papers on medicine and anatomy, and on ornithology and conservation, 
Dr. Strong wrote four books on birds. His last published work was the 
monumental Bibliography and Index of World Ornithological Literature. 
In 1907, along with Professor Cowles of the University of Chicago 
and other distinguished naturalists, Dr. Strong first proposed that the 
stretch of sand dunes around the southern shore of Lake Michigan be set 
aside as a National Park. He continued the effort to establish such a 
park until his last days. In 1912 he helped to found the Chicago Ornitho- 
logical Society, serving many times subsequently as an officer and 
director. He served as Chairman of the Governor’s Advisory Commission 
on Illinois Beach State Park, and was a Vice-President of the Illinois Wild- 
flower Preservation Society. In December, 1959, in a ceremony at the 
Chicago Natural History Museum, the Illinois Audubon Society presented 
a plaque to Dr. Strong as a special conservation award. 
