Ornithology, Evolution, and Philosophy 123

7 The Harvard Years (1953–2005) 257
Fig.7.1. At Harvard University (left to right) Alfred Romer, Ernst Mayr and Julian Huxley,
14 November 1959 (Photograph courtesy of E. Mayr)
Congress (Ithaca 1962, Fig. 7.2), and the Commission of Zoological Nomenclature
(1954–1976). As a member of the Biology Council (National Research Council,
1950s) he wrote a report on “Preserved materials and museum collections” to
bring out the importance of museum collections and systematics generally, including
a plea for better support. With the upsurge of molecular biology he was
on continuous vigilance to prevent that all financial resources and new positions
would be given to this new field. Again and again he emphasized the important
contributions of systematics to the conceptual framework of biology such as population
thinking, evolutionary biology, the basis of ecology and behavioral biology
(besides its descriptive and service functions of taxonomy).
He wrote to Erwin Stresemann: “Did you see the Karl Jordan festschrift yet?
I am working toward his election, despite his age, as an overseas member of
the National Academy of Sciences (USA). Perhaps I’ll succeed! I am anxious that
systematics as such is honored” (11 March 1956; transl.) and “This again has
been an exceedingly busy autumn, primarily because I have to serve on so many
government committees as Mr. Systematicus. It is unfortunately true and realized
by everybody that our field loses out whenever I am unable to represent it on
high-level policy committees. I cannot do this forever but as we few in German
[systematic] ornithology there is no one in this country who has quite the same
authority on committees of the National Science Foundation or National Academy
of Sciences as I do. Within the current 3-week period I have to be in Washington,