Ruben Arthur Stirton
Ruben Arthur Stirton , called Stirt , (born August 20, 1901 in Muscotah , Kansas , † June 14, 1966 in California ) was an American paleontologist .
Stirton studied zoology at the University of Kansas and the University of California, Berkeley . In 1930 he became curator of fossil mammals at the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP). In 1941 he became a lecturer in paleontology, in 1946 an associate professor and in 1951 a professor. From 1949 to 1966 he was director of the museum. 1951 to 1956 he was head of the Faculty of Paleontology.
He studied tertiary mammals on the American prairie and published on fossil horses, beavers, tooth development, and vertebrate biostratigraphy. In 1941/42 he dug in San Salvador (where he did field studies as a student from 1925 to 1927) and in 1944 as a Guggenheim fellow in Colombia, which led to the discovery of the tertiary mammal fauna of La Ventura. From 1953 fossil marsupials in Australia were his research focus.
Patricia Vickers-Rich named the Stirton Thunderbird in his honor in 1979 .
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Stirton, Ruben Arthur |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Stirt |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American paleontologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 20, 1901 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | near Muscotah , Kansas |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 14, 1966 |
| Place of death | California |