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The Whitney South Sea Expedition (1920 - 1941[1]) to collect bird specimens for the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), under the initial leadership of Rollo Beck,[2] was instigated by Dr Leonard C. Sanford and financed by Harry Payne Whitney, a thoroughbred horse-breeder and philanthropist. It was administered by a committee at the AMNH and became a focus for attracting funds for research on the biota of the Pacific islands.
The expedition visited islands in the south Pacific region and eventually returned with over 40,000 bird specimens, many plant specimens and an extensive collection of anthropological items and photographs.
Using the 75-ton schooner France,[3] with many different scientists and collectors participating over more than a dozen years, the expedition visited thousands of islands throughout Oceania, Micronesia, Polynesia and Melanesia.[1] The France was sold in 1932 when funds ran out.
Specimens from the expedition were displayed in a hall at the AMNH funded by Harry Whitney.
- ^ a b "American Museum of Natural History Research Library: Whitney South Sea Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History (1920-1941) (amnhc_2000164)". data.library.amnh.org. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
- ^ Whitney South Sea Expedition. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
- ^ Murphy, Robert Cushman The Whitney South Sea Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History, Science, pp. 701-2. Science. Retrieved 22 December 2014.