Ephraim Laurence Palmer
Ephraim Laurence Palmer (July 8, 1888 – December 18, 1970) was an American science educator and conservationist. He served as president of several national organizations, including: the National Council of Supervisors of Nature Study and Gardening; American Nature Study Society; Department of Science Instruction of the
National Education Association (now
National Science Teachers Association); and the
National Association of Biology Teachers. He was director of the
National Audubon Society (1946–1950) and director of Conservation Education of the
National Wildlife Federation (1950–1956). He directed nature programs for the
Boy Scouts of America for over 30 years, and was awarded the
Silver Beaver and
Silver Buffalo Awards for his service. He edited the ''Cornell Rural School Leaflet'' for 34 years, and was elected Fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Rochester Academy of Science. He was known for books such as ''Fieldbook of Natural History'' (1949), the weekly radio show ''This Week in Nature'' of the 1940s and 1950s, and his writings in ''
Nature Magazine''.
Palmer was born in
McGraw, New York, on July 8, 1888, to Laura Lincoln (''née'' Darrow) and Ephraim Clark Palmer. He attended
Cortland State Normal School, and in 1908 enrolled in
Cornell University, graduating with an A.B. in 1911 and M.A. in 1913. He taught at
Iowa State Teachers College before returning to Cornell to earn a PhD in
systematic botany in 1917. In 1921 he married
Katherine Van Winkle, a paleontologist. The couple had two children, however their eldest son Laurence Van Winkle Palmer (born 1923), nicknamed "Punky", contracted a
Streptococcus infection at the age of 4 which eventually took his life at the age of 17. Their younger son
Richard Robert Palmer (born 1930), also known as "Robin", would later join the
Weather Underground and served time in prison for attempting to firebomb a bank in New York City.
Provided by Wikipedia