Person

Baldwin, S. Prentiss (Samuel Prentiss), 1868-1938

1868-1938

Samuel Prentiss Baldwin was born on October 26, 1868, in Cleveland, Ohio.

He was an American ornithologist, naturalist, and lawyer. He obtained his degrees from Dartmouth College (A.B., 1892, A.M., 1894, D.Sc., 1932) and Western Reserve University (LL.B., 1895). After being admitted to the Ohio Bar, Baldwin practiced law until illness forced his retirement in 1902. He then ventured into business, eventually becoming chairman of The Williamson Co. and president of The New Amsterdam Co. In 1914, he established and supervised the Baldwin Bird Research Laboratory at Hillcrest, his Gates Mills estate, to research live wild birds. He also played a role in the organization of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. From 1914 to 1919, Baldwin pioneered a method of bird banding, which was later adopted by the U.S. Biological Survey, enabling scientists to study the migratory habits of individual American birds. Additionally, Baldwin developed the wrenograph and the potentiometer to study the house wren's temperature, demonstrating that it was a cold-blooded animal. One of Baldwin's most significant contributions was the study of the body temperature of birds and confirming their reptilian ancestry. He was a biology research associate at Western Reserve University and a trustee of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

In 1896, he married Lillian Converse Hanna (1852–1948). He died on December 31, 1938, in Cleveland, Ohio.