3 The New York Years (1931–1953)

Director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 265
In his last Annual Report (for 1968–69) Mayr gave an overall view of the years
of his directorship which have been a period of transition in many respects. He
pointed out that in his opinion, the MCZ had changed in three major ways: (1)
The staff had become more professional, resulting in higher scientific standards;
(2) Teaching had received greater emphasis, and (3) Research had been increasingly
directed toward the study of living animals, although straight taxonomic work
(monographs, revisions, description of new species) remained basic requirements.
On this occasion, he also acknowledged the work of Marjorie Sturm who took
a large portion of administrative burden off his shoulders (see her reminiscences
of Ernst Mayr as the Director on page 289).
While living in New York, Mayr corresponded with numerous ornithologists in
the United States and in many other countries of the world. From the 1940s onward,
he communicated increasingly also with other zoologists and geneticists with an
interest in evolution and speciation. All incoming letters and carbon copies of his
answers are preserved in Harvard Archives (Pusey Library, Papers of Ernst Mayr)
and listed in a computerized inventory. These letters document Mayr’s public and
professional life at the AMNH and at Harvard’s MCZ. Some correspondence and
otherhistoricalmaterialisalsofiledinthearchivesoftheAMNH,Departmentof
Ornithology, and of the MCZ, Ernst Mayr Library. I reviewed in some detail the
above inventory of his correspondence for the 1960s, while he was the director of
the MCZ, and the contents of selected letters. In the second half of this decade he
exchanged numerous letters with Philip Handler and with W.C. Steere in conjunction
with the work on several committees during the preparation of the “Handler
Report” on the status of biology among the sciences (p. 312). Genetical problems
were discussed in many letters with E.B. Ford, I. M. Lerner, J.B.S. Haldane,
R. Lewontin and M. J. D. White, evolution and adaptation with G. G. Simpson,
V. E. Grant, and C. H. Waddington. Of course, close communication continued
during the 1960s with Mayr’s fellow ornithologists Amadon, Deignan, Delacour,
Eisenmann, Friedmann, Gilliard, Grenewalt, Lack, Miller, Moreau, Phelps, Ripley,
Salomonsen, Selander, Serventy, Sibley, and Vaurie. German colleagues with
whom he exchanged many letters included his friend Erwin Stresemann, and
also Niethammer, Immelmann, Rensch, Stein, and Sick, the latter in Brazil since
1939. Numerous letters were exchanged with his former or current PhD students
W. Bock, W. Coleman, C.W. Helms, T.H. Hamilton, A. Keast, A.J. Meyerriecks,
M. Moynihan, I. Rubinoff, W.J. Smith, and R. MacArthur (although the latter was
not one of his graduate students). Corresponding post-doc fellows during those
years included A.J. Cain, M.T. Ghiselin, and G. von Wahlert. The letters frequently
included detailed technical discussions and left Mayr’s office on a daily basis despite
his busy schedule. Even at an age of over 90 years he regularly exchanged
letters with numerous people, often only one or two letters per year but with many
colleagues he corresponded on a monthly basis; a total of 230 names were on his
list. A careful study of this correspondence would be very interesting.