Jean Théodore Delacour (26 September 1890 – 5 November 1985) was a French ornithologist and aviculturist. He later became American. He was renowned for not only discovering but also rearing some of the rarest birds in the world. He established very successful aviaries twice in his life, stocked with birds from around the world, including those that he obtained on expeditions to Southeast Asia, Africa and South America. His first aviary in Villers-Bretonneux was destroyed in World War One. The second one that he established at Clères was destroyed in World War Two. He moved to the United States of America where he worked on avian systematics and was one of the founders of the International Committee for Bird Protection[1] (later BirdLife International). One of the birds he discovered was the imperial pheasant, later identified as a hybrid between the Vietnamese pheasant and the silver pheasant.
Delacour was born in Paris into an aristocratic family and grew up on the family estate at Villiers near Amiens where he was fascinated by the orchids and ornamental birds in the castle park. With the money he received from his family (his father died in 1905), he established a private zoo in Picardy. He attended schools in Paris where he spent time in the natural history museum and received a doctorate in biology from the Université Lille Nord de France. He maintained 1345 birds of 344 species in 1916.[2]
Delacour served in the French Army during World War I, a war which devastated the family estate, as well as killing his only surviving brother. He was so shocked by the inhumanity that he swore not to have a family and moved to England for its peace. He however decided to return to France and bought the Chateau de Clères in Normandy where he set about making a menagerie. It was so well known that the 9th International Ornithological Congress was held in 1938 in the nearby town of Rouen. One of the visitors to his aviary was Pierre Jabouille,[3] the French administrator for Annam, a part of Indochina. On the latter's invitation, Delacour went on numerous scientific expeditions to Indochina, particularly Vietnam,[4] as well as to Venezuela, the Guianas and Madagascar.[5][6][7][8][9]
Perhaps my bitter experience may serve as an object lesson to those who hold material possessions in too great esteem and to remind others that nothing in life should be regarded as permanent.
During World War II Chateau Clères was bombed by the German Luftwaffe on 7 June 1940. Most of his library, animals in his collection and the castle were destroyed, but his manager Frank E. Fooks escaped.[10] Delacour was saved by Belgians and Frenchmen and escaped to Vichy. Erwin Stresemann, a good friend and admirer of Delacour heard of the fate of the zoo and attempted to ensure the safety of the remaining animals through the Wehrmacht. Delacour meanwhile fled through Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier and Lisbon, reaching New York City on Christmas Day 1940. His American friends found him a job, his first, at the Bronx Zoo and the Museum of Natural History at New York. Delacour lived in the United States, working as a technical adviser for the New York Zoological Society (now known as the Wildlife Conservation Society) as well as on avian systematics at the American Museum of Natural History examining many enigmatic genera such as Hypocolius and Picathartes.[11][12][13][14] In 1952, he became director of the Los Angeles County Museum of History, Science and Art, retiring in 1960. After the war ended he divided his time seasonally, spending every summer from 1946 at his estate at Clères where he organized the rebuilding of his zoo through his assistant F. E. Fook and with assistance from Sir Peter Scott, Alfred Ezra and the Duke of Bedford. It was opened in May 1947 with the French Prime Minister taking part in the inauguration. The collection was eventually donated to the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle in 1967. He was a co-founder of the International Council for Bird Preservation, serving as its president from 1938 to 1958. Delacour spent his winters in the United States, mainly in Los Angeles where he served from 1952 to 1960 as the director of the County Museum of History, Science and Art. Spending all his time and resources on his bird collections, he never married. He had trained as an operatic singer and was particularly fond of Moussorgsky's compositions.[15]
Delacour was reliant on a wheelchair in later life. He lived with his mother who died in 1954 at the age of 94. In his autobiography "The Living Air" he wrote that humans would eventually annihilate all life on earth.[4][16][17][18][19][20]
1951–64 – The Waterfowl of the World (4 vols) - with paintings by Sir Peter Scott
1959 – Wild Pigeons and Doves
1966 – The Living Air: The Memoirs of an Ornithologist (autobiography)
1973 – Curassows and Related Birds (with Dean Amadon)
Referencesedit
^"BirdLife International". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
^Delacour, J. (1917). "Notes on my birds at Villers-Bretonneux in 1916". Avicultural Magazine. 3. 8 (3): 69–73.
^Delacour, Jean; Jabouille, Pierre; Lowe, Willoughby P. (1927). "Short Report on the Second Expedition to French Indo-China (1925-1926)". Ibis. 69 (1): 132–134. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1927.tb05647.x.
^ abNowak, Eugeniusz (2002). (PDF). Der Ornithologische Beobachter (in German). 99: 49–70. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
^"Delacour on the Species of Otus scops". Ibis. 84 (3): 446–447. 3 April 2008. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1942.tb05721.x.
^Delacour, J. (1949). "The genus Lophura (Gallopheasants)". Ibis. 91 (2): 188–220. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1949.tb02262.x.
^Delacour, J. (1930). "On the Birds collected during the Fifth Expedition to French Indo-China". Ibis. 72 (4): 564–599. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1930.tb02967.x.
^Delacour, J. (1932). "On the Birds collected in Madagascar by the Franco-Anglo-American Expedition". Ibis. 74 (2): 284–304. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1932.tb07623.x.
^Delacour, Jean; Jabouille, Pierre (1925). "On the Birds of Quangtri, Central Annam; with Notes on others from other Parts of French Indo-China". Ibis. 67 (1): 209–260. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1925.tb02914.x.
^ abDelacour, Jean (1941). "The end of Cleres". Avicultural Magazine. 6: 81–84.
^Delacour, Jean; Amadon., Dean (3 April 2008). "The relationships of Hypocolius". Ibis. 91 (3): 427–429. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1949.tb02292.x.
^Delacour, J. (1942). "The Bush-Warblers of the Genera Cettia and Bradypterus, with Notes on Allied Genera and Species". Ibis. 84 (4): 509–519. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1942.tb03450.x.
^Delacour, J. (1943). "The Bush-Warblers of the Genera Cettia and Bradypterus, with Notes on Allied Genera and Species". Ibis. 85 (1): 27–40. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1943.tb03993.x.
^Delacour, Jean; Amadon, Dean (1951). "The systematic position of Picathartes". Ibis. 93 (1): 60–62. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1951.tb05398.x.
^Mayr, Ernst (1986). "In Memoriam: Jean (Theodore) Delacour" (PDF). Auk. 103 (3): 603–605. doi:10.1093/auk/103.3.603.
^Lantermann, Werner (2015). "Jean Delacour (1890–1985) – eine Retrospektive zum 30. Todestag". Der Zoologische Garten (in German). 84 (3–4): 193–198. doi:10.1016/j.zoolgart.2015.01.008.
^Lindholm, J. H. (1988). "Jean Delacour and the Avicultural Magazine". Avic. Mag. 94: 68–69.
^Delacour, J. (1969). "The progress of aviculture during the last three-quarters of a century". Avicultural Magazine. 75: 224–225.
^Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Delacour", p. 68).
External linksedit
Delacour Memorial Issue of the Avicultural Magazine (1988)
jean, théodore, delacour, september, 1890, november, 1985, french, ornithologist, aviculturist, later, became, american, renowned, only, discovering, also, rearing, some, rarest, birds, world, established, very, successful, aviaries, twice, life, stocked, with. Jean Theodore Delacour 26 September 1890 5 November 1985 was a French ornithologist and aviculturist He later became American He was renowned for not only discovering but also rearing some of the rarest birds in the world He established very successful aviaries twice in his life stocked with birds from around the world including those that he obtained on expeditions to Southeast Asia Africa and South America His first aviary in Villers Bretonneux was destroyed in World War One The second one that he established at Cleres was destroyed in World War Two He moved to the United States of America where he worked on avian systematics and was one of the founders of the International Committee for Bird Protection 1 later BirdLife International One of the birds he discovered was the imperial pheasant later identified as a hybrid between the Vietnamese pheasant and the silver pheasant Jean Theodore DelacourDelacour in 1957 photographed by Alexander WetmoreBorn 1890 09 26 September 26 1890Paris FranceDiedNovember 5 1985 1985 11 05 aged 95 Los Angeles California Contents 1 Life and work 2 Bibliography 3 References 4 External linksLife and work editDelacour was born in Paris into an aristocratic family and grew up on the family estate at Villiers near Amiens where he was fascinated by the orchids and ornamental birds in the castle park With the money he received from his family his father died in 1905 he established a private zoo in Picardy He attended schools in Paris where he spent time in the natural history museum and received a doctorate in biology from the Universite Lille Nord de France He maintained 1345 birds of 344 species in 1916 2 Delacour served in the French Army during World War I a war which devastated the family estate as well as killing his only surviving brother He was so shocked by the inhumanity that he swore not to have a family and moved to England for its peace He however decided to return to France and bought the Chateau de Cleres in Normandy where he set about making a menagerie It was so well known that the 9th International Ornithological Congress was held in 1938 in the nearby town of Rouen One of the visitors to his aviary was Pierre Jabouille 3 the French administrator for Annam a part of Indochina On the latter s invitation Delacour went on numerous scientific expeditions to Indochina particularly Vietnam 4 as well as to Venezuela the Guianas and Madagascar 5 6 7 8 9 Perhaps my bitter experience may serve as an object lesson to those who hold material possessions in too great esteem and to remind others that nothing in life should be regarded as permanent Delacour Avicultural Magazine 1941 10 During World War II Chateau Cleres was bombed by the German Luftwaffe on 7 June 1940 Most of his library animals in his collection and the castle were destroyed but his manager Frank E Fooks escaped 10 Delacour was saved by Belgians and Frenchmen and escaped to Vichy Erwin Stresemann a good friend and admirer of Delacour heard of the fate of the zoo and attempted to ensure the safety of the remaining animals through the Wehrmacht Delacour meanwhile fled through Casablanca Rabat Tangier and Lisbon reaching New York City on Christmas Day 1940 His American friends found him a job his first at the Bronx Zoo and the Museum of Natural History at New York Delacour lived in the United States working as a technical adviser for the New York Zoological Society now known as the Wildlife Conservation Society as well as on avian systematics at the American Museum of Natural History examining many enigmatic genera such as Hypocolius and Picathartes 11 12 13 14 In 1952 he became director of the Los Angeles County Museum of History Science and Art retiring in 1960 After the war ended he divided his time seasonally spending every summer from 1946 at his estate at Cleres where he organized the rebuilding of his zoo through his assistant F E Fook and with assistance from Sir Peter Scott Alfred Ezra and the Duke of Bedford It was opened in May 1947 with the French Prime Minister taking part in the inauguration The collection was eventually donated to the Museum National d Histoire Naturelle in 1967 He was a co founder of the International Council for Bird Preservation serving as its president from 1938 to 1958 Delacour spent his winters in the United States mainly in Los Angeles where he served from 1952 to 1960 as the director of the County Museum of History Science and Art Spending all his time and resources on his bird collections he never married He had trained as an operatic singer and was particularly fond of Moussorgsky s compositions 15 Delacour was reliant on a wheelchair in later life He lived with his mother who died in 1954 at the age of 94 In his autobiography The Living Air he wrote that humans would eventually annihilate all life on earth 4 16 17 18 19 20 Delacour is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of Southeast Asian snake Plagiopholis delacouri 21 Bibliography editApart from many papers in the ornithological literature particularly in the Avicultural Magazine Delacour wrote or cowrote several books including 1931 Les Oiseaux de L Indochine Francaise 4 vols 1945 Birds of the Philippines with Ernst Mayr 1947 Birds of Malaysia 1951 The Pheasants of the World 1951 64 The Waterfowl of the World 4 vols with paintings by Sir Peter Scott 1959 Wild Pigeons and Doves 1966 The Living Air The Memoirs of an Ornithologist autobiography 1973 Curassows and Related Birds with Dean Amadon References edit BirdLife International Encyclopaedia Britannica Retrieved 20 September 2020 Delacour J 1917 Notes on my birds at Villers Bretonneux in 1916 Avicultural Magazine 3 8 3 69 73 Delacour Jean Jabouille Pierre Lowe Willoughby P 1927 Short Report on the Second Expedition to French Indo China 1925 1926 Ibis 69 1 132 134 doi 10 1111 j 1474 919X 1927 tb05647 x a b Nowak Eugeniusz 2002 Erinnerungen an Ornithologen die ich kannte 4 Teil PDF Der Ornithologische Beobachter in German 99 49 70 Archived from the original PDF on 22 February 2018 Retrieved 22 February 2018 Delacour on the Species of Otus scops Ibis 84 3 446 447 3 April 2008 doi 10 1111 j 1474 919X 1942 tb05721 x Delacour J 1949 The genus Lophura Gallopheasants Ibis 91 2 188 220 doi 10 1111 j 1474 919X 1949 tb02262 x Delacour J 1930 On the Birds collected during the Fifth Expedition to French Indo China Ibis 72 4 564 599 doi 10 1111 j 1474 919X 1930 tb02967 x Delacour J 1932 On the Birds collected in Madagascar by the Franco Anglo American Expedition Ibis 74 2 284 304 doi 10 1111 j 1474 919X 1932 tb07623 x Delacour Jean Jabouille Pierre 1925 On the Birds of Quangtri Central Annam with Notes on others from other Parts of French Indo China Ibis 67 1 209 260 doi 10 1111 j 1474 919X 1925 tb02914 x a b Delacour Jean 1941 The end of Cleres Avicultural Magazine 6 81 84 Delacour Jean Amadon Dean 3 April 2008 The relationships of Hypocolius Ibis 91 3 427 429 doi 10 1111 j 1474 919X 1949 tb02292 x Delacour J 1942 The Bush Warblers of the Genera Cettia and Bradypterus with Notes on Allied Genera and Species Ibis 84 4 509 519 doi 10 1111 j 1474 919X 1942 tb03450 x Delacour J 1943 The Bush Warblers of the Genera Cettia and Bradypterus with Notes on Allied Genera and Species Ibis 85 1 27 40 doi 10 1111 j 1474 919X 1943 tb03993 x Delacour Jean Amadon Dean 1951 The systematic position of Picathartes Ibis 93 1 60 62 doi 10 1111 j 1474 919X 1951 tb05398 x Ezra Ruth 1988 Jean Theodore Delacour 1890 1985 Avicultural Magazine 94 1 2 Mayr Ernst 1986 In Memoriam Jean Theodore Delacour PDF Auk 103 3 603 605 doi 10 1093 auk 103 3 603 Lantermann Werner 2015 Jean Delacour 1890 1985 eine Retrospektive zum 30 Todestag Der Zoologische Garten in German 84 3 4 193 198 doi 10 1016 j zoolgart 2015 01 008 Kear Janet 1988 Obituary Ibis 128 1 141 doi 10 1111 j 1474 919X 1986 tb02102 x Lindholm J H 1988 Jean Delacour and the Avicultural Magazine Avic Mag 94 68 69 Delacour J 1969 The progress of aviculture during the last three quarters of a century Avicultural Magazine 75 224 225 Beolens Bo Watkins Michael Grayson Michael 2011 The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press xiii 296 pp ISBN 978 1 4214 0135 5 Delacour p 68 External links editDelacour Memorial Issue of theAvicultural Magazine 1988 Works by or about Jean Theodore Delacour at Internet Archive The Spirit of Jean Delacour lives on Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jean Theodore Delacour amp oldid 1155859591, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
