| Activity | Stejneger, who had always had an interest in zoology, emigrated to the United States in 1881 when the family business went under in Norway. He soon attracted the attention of Spencer Baird at the Smithsonian and began working under the supervision of the ornithologist Robert Ridgway. He moved steadily up the ladder, eventually reaching the title of head curator of biology. Stejneger specialized in vertebrate natural history studies; although he started out working primarily on birds he gained his greatest reputation with reptiles and amphibians, also studying mammals. His publications exceeded four hundred in total. His stints in the field included visits to the Commander Islands, Kamchatka, Puerto Rico, the Alps, the U. S. Southwest, the South Dakota badlands, and Japan. He was also heavily engaged in administrative work, conservation efforts, and society work, and managed to keep active all the way into his tenth decade of life.
1881 begins working at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). 1882 - 1883 studies seals in the Commander Islands for the US Fish Commission. 1884 - 1889 assistant curator of Birds, AMNH. 1887 becomes an american citizen. 1889 made 1st curator of reptiles and batrachians at AMNH. 1889 collects reptiles and amphibians in Arizona and studies life zones there. 1895 revisits Commander Islands for the Fish Commission. 1896, 1897 named to the International Fur Seal Commission. 1900 collects reptiles and amphibians in Puerto Rico. 1900 earns a gold medal at the Paris exposition for his work on fur seals management and conservation. 1901 - 1935 delegate to the International Zoological Congress 7 times. 1906 made a Knight First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olaf. 1907 - 1908 president, Biological Soicety of Washington. 1911 - 1943 head curator of biology at AMNH (exempted from retirement by special presidential order in 1921). 1919 president, American Society of Icthyologists and Herpetologists. 1922 visits the Commander Islands again for the Department of Commerce. 1923 elected to the National Academy of Science. 1931 made honorary president for life of the American Society of Icthyologists and Herpetologists. 1939 made a commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olaf. |