Robert Rush Miller

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Robert ("Bob") Rush Miller (born April 23, 1916 in Colorado Springs , Colorado ; † February 10, 2003 in the USA ) was an ichthyologist , zoologist and an evolutionary biologist .

Early years

Robert's father, Ralph Gifford Miller, was a lawyer. Robert Miller was the youngest of four brothers. In his childhood, his parents moved to the Los Angeles area . His father wanted him to study geology . He first studied this discipline at the University of California at Berkeley , but when he discovered small fish in desert areas during field studies, his interest develops in this direction. He studied at Pomona College , Berkeley, and graduated from college in 1939 as a "pre-graduate student." There he met the prominent American ichthyologist Professor Carl Leavitt Hubbs with whom he later worked frequently.

In 1940 he married Frances Hubb, Hubbs' daughter, with whom he collaborated on his scientific work throughout her life. He had five children with her, including two twins.

Years as a scientist

He finished his studies in 1943 at the University of Michigan with a bachelor's degree . In 1944 he received his doctorate from Hubbs. He was then employed by the Smithsonian Institution at the National Museum of Natural History . His first work at the Smithsonian Institution took him to Guatemala in 1946 .

In 1948 he was accepted as an expert in ichthyology in the American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land and collected 30,000 fish specimens in the eight-month expedition. While the expedition was still in progress, he received an offer to become Assistant Professor of Zoology at the University of Michigan , which he accepted and held this post until 1954.

From 1948 to 1959 he was Assistant Curator of Fish Studies at the Museum of Zoology and from 1954 to 1959 Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Michigan. In 1960 he was appointed Professor of Biological Sciences and Curator of Fish Studies at the University of Michigan.

In 1965 he was named President of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists , from 1965 to 1979 he was chairman of the Desert Fishes Council and from 1973 to 1974 he was a Guggenheim Fellow .

Together with WL Minckley, he discovered the endemic fish Xiphophorus gordoni , whose population is now endangered. They named him in honor of Myron Gordon .

Robert Miller has received several awards, including the American Fisheries Society's Service Award in 1989 and the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists' Robert H. Gibbs Jr. Memorial Award in 1994 .

Work (selection)

Robert Rush Miller's list of publications includes around 250 works.

  • Robert R. Miller, Carl Leavitt Hubbs (1948): The Zoological Evidence: Correlation Between Fish Distribution and Hydrographic History in the Desert Basins of Western United States .
  • Robert R. Miller (1961): Man and the Changing Fish Fauna of the American Southwest (1961): Papers of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters.
  • Robert R. Miller, Karl Frank Lagler, John E. Bardach (1962): Ichthyology , University of Michigan
  • Robert R. Miller, WL Minckley (1963): Xiphophorus gordoni, A New Species of Platyfish from Coahuila, Mexico , Copeia, 1963 (3). Pp. 538-546.
  • Robert R. Miller (1966): Geographical Distribution of Central American Freshwater Fishes , Copeia.
  • Robert R. Miller, JD Williams, JE Williams (1989): Extinctions of North American Fishes During the Past Century , Fisheries.
  • Robert R. Miller (published posthumously 2004), Steven Mark Norris, WL Minckley: Freshwater Fishes of Mexico .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ www.jstor.org : Francis M. Cashner, Gerald R. Smith, Robert C. Cashner: Robert Rush Miller and Frances Hubbs Miller , in English, accessed December 11, 2013
  2. ↑ Goffard Hubs Miller, Robert Charles Cashner: 14. Beneath the Billabongs: The scientific legacy of Robert Rush Miller Online at epress.anu.edu.au , in English, accessed December 11, 2013
  3. ↑ iucnredlist.org : Xiphopporus gordoni (Northern platyfish) , accessed in English, on December 11, 2013
  4. ↑ people.wku.edu : Miller, Robert Rush (United States 1916-2003) Ichthyology, evolutionary biology , in English, accessed December 11, 2013
personal data
SURNAME Miller, Robert Rush
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Miller, Robert R .; Miller, Bob
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American ichthyologist, biologist, and evolutionary biologist
DATE OF BIRTH April 23, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH Colorado Springs , Colorado
DATE OF DEATH February 10, 2003
Place of death United States