3 The New York Years (1931–1953)

National and International Recognition 319
Similarities in Darwin’s and Mayr’s careers include that both had become young
naturalists early in their lives, both had started medical school and later returned
to their earlier interests, both had gathered field experience in the tropics during
expeditions at the beginning of their careers which deeply influenced their later
taxonomic work (on barnacles and birds, respectively), and both arrived at broad
biological generalizations in their later theoretical work.
In view of his workload, Mayr also had to decline several honors intended
for him: When he was vice president of the International Zoological Congress in
London (1958), he was offered the presidency of the next of these congresses in
Washington (1962). But, by that time he would be the director of his institution
(MCZ) at Harvard and, moreover, he was deeply involved in writing his book,
Animal Species and Evolution (1963). Other positions that he had to decline included
the presidency of the Zoological Society of America, and the presidency of
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences of Boston, both in the 1960s, and the
directorship of a Max Planck Institute of evolutionary biology in Germany (1959).
He explained his decision in a long letter to E. Stresemann:
“I don’t think I am a particularly good experimentalist. My strength has always
been that of critical integration. I don’t know how I would have worked out as head
of an institute with a number of assistants, etc. And then there are purely personal
reasons. You may not realize it, but I have had an unusual series of duties and
commitments for the last 25 years which has made it impossible all these years to
do expeditions and extensive foreign travels. I have just now reached the point to
consider this and will start with a trip to Australia next winter. The idea to plan
and equip an institute makes me shudder” (27 May 1959).
To explain his decision further, he attached a copy of the report of his activities
from mid-1958 to mid-1959, commenting that this “gives you a little idea
of my numerous ties in this country!” The report listed a series of publications,
“works in progress” and “in preparation,” and seven lectures he gave at conferences
and institutions (American Ornithologists’ Union; University of Hawaii; Surgical
Research Conference; British Ornithologists’ Union; British Broadcasting Corporation,
London; American Philosophical Society; Cold Spring Harbor, New York).
At the same time, he declined five position offers and 12 offers to participate in
various symposia, congresses, panel discussions, etc.