Ornithology, Evolution, and Philosophy 123

284 9 Ernst Mayr—the Man
his colleagues, always answering enquiries without delay, reviewing in detail and
promptly manuscripts for associates, students and journal editors and supporting
students or young colleagues in many other ways. Numerous recipients of his help
and kindness have stated their gratefulness in print. Mayr was interactive with
students and other interested persons, an excellent adviser, supportive and enthusiastic
about the work of others (as his teacher and friend Erwin Stresemann had
been).
Mayr also often cooperated with and trained volunteers and young colleagues
in the Bird Department of AMNH publishing the results of their joint research
in coauthorship with them (p. 120). Despite his extremely busy schedule at the
museum he also wrote detailed letters to collectors in the field who were working
under his supervision giving advice and encouragement in a truly understanding
way. In this respect he was carrying on a tradition because, when he himself was
on expedition in New Guinea, Ernst Hartert and especially Erwin Stresemann had
sent him long letters stimulating Mayr’s interest and ambitions effectively.
In scientific societies like the AOU and Evolution Society Mayr played active
roles and worked for their improvement without asking for any other reward (Cain
1994). He was an active member of numerous committees, and a responsible editor.
Always willing to work hard, he spent much of his time on these cooperative efforts.
After World War II, he and his wife Gretel contributed in a most unselfish manner
time, energy, and money to the founding and activities of the American Relief
Committee for German ornithologists (p. 137). After Stresemann’s Entwicklung der
Ornithologie had appeared in 1951, it was exclusively due to E. Mayr’s continuing
efforts that a translator and a publisher were found and an American edition
was eventually published (Harvard University Press, 1975). An Epilogue by Mayr
updated the history of American ornithology.
Evidently, he saw himself as occasionally more of a “nasty fellow” than he actually
was. Also, he never took personally any criticism of his work and maintained
friendly relations with his main opponents such as Richard Goldschmidt and John
C. Greene. When one of his theories was proven wrong, he did not hesitate to agree
and change his opinion. Occasionally Mayr was rather quick in passing judgment
on older colleagues, as illustrated by a quote from Stresemann’s letter written on
his return trip to Germany after a visit to the United States (13 October 1937;
transl.):
“I almost jumped out of my shoes when you mentioned to Delacour that you
consider Wetmore a dry schoolmaster with a small mind […] By this you help
nobody, but you may harm yourself badly. Bet that Wetmore will hear of it within
a short while? Somebody […] mentioned to Tom Barbour that you called him no
more than ‘a simple Harvard professor’ and that you don’t think much of him
as a zoologist. This Barbour told me personally, with plenty of bitterness. Why
make enemies unnecessarily?” Mayr answered repentantly on 6 November 1937:
“I thought I had improved which, however, apparently is not the case! I shall take
pains over it in the future! The bad thing about it is that sometimes I cannot
remember anything, as in the case of Barbour. I have not the slightest idea to have