April 30 - Lynds Jones - the Birdman of Oberlin Program

Join Oberlin’s Diana Steele, an avid birder and former Northeast Regional Director at the Ohio Ornithological Society, as she explores the life and times of Lynds Jones (1865-1951) on April 30 at 6:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend this free illustrated program in the Community Room of the Oberlin Public Library at 65 South Main Street.

Jones, who graduated from Oberlin College in 1892, began teaching ornithology at his alma mater — the first course of its kind ever offered at an American college or university. Not only was he a professor at Oberlin for nearly four decades, Jones also had a tremendous impact on the fields of ornithology and recreational birding. He founded both an ornithological society (The Wilson Ornithological Society, 1888) and a journal (now the Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 1889) that remain active today. Jones is also responsible for many of the common practices that recreational birders take for granted as “standard practice” in the field, more than a century later.

Diana Steele has been a science writer for 30 years. She is an avid birder, and has birded in all 50 U.S. States and six continents.