Who was Aldo Leopold? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Died At Age: 61

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Estella Leopold

father: Carl Leopold

mother: Clara Starker

siblings: Carl Starker Leopold, Frederic Leopold, Marie Luize Leopold

children: A. Carl Leopold, A. Starker Leopold, Estella Leopold, Luna Leopold, Nina Leopold Bradley

Born Country: United States

Scientists Non-Fiction Writers

Died on: April 21, 1948

place of death: Wisconsin

Ideology: Environmentalists

U.S. State: Iowa

More Facts

education: Sheffield Scientific School, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Yale University, Lawrenceville School

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Childhood & Early Life

Aldo Leopold was born in Burlington, Iowa, United States, to Carl Leopold and Clara Starker. His younger siblings were May Luize, Carl Starker and Frederic.

Though German was his first language, yet he managed to master English at a very young age. From early childhood, he was a keen observer of nature and learnt woodcraft and hunting from his father.

After attending Prospect Hill Elementary, he studied at Burlington High School. Later, he decided to pursue a career in forestry for which he went to study forestry at Yale University.

In 1904, he attended The Lawrenceville School, a preparatory college in New Jersey so that he could enter Yale University. During his stay at Lawrenceville, he spent most of his time in observing the wildlife.

In 1905, he studied at Sheffield Scientific School at Yale. In the following year, he started coursework at Yale Forest School and in 1909 he finished his Master of Forestry.

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Career

In 1909, he served as a forest assistant at the Apache National Forest in the Arizona Territory.

In 1911, he worked at the Carson National Forest in northern New Mexico as deputy supervisor. During his tenure as deputy supervisor, he took the initiative to develop a comprehensive management plan for the Grand Canyon. It was he, who, for the first time, wrote Forest Service’s fish handbook.

In 1914, he served for the U.S. Forest Service district headquarters in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the department of grazing. In the following year, he took the charge of developing activities in recreation, game, fishing and publicity.

In 1918, when the U.S. joined World War I, he left his forest service and worked as secretary of the Albuquereque Chamber of Commerce. In the next year, he rejoined the Forest Service as the assistant district forester of the forests in Southwest.

In 1923, he finished writing the “Watershed Handbook”. This book represents a vivid description of his observations of nature during his numerous inspection tours of Southwestern forests.

In 1924, he took the responsibility of an associate director of the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin. He served here till 1928. Later, he conducted game surveys of Midwestern states. He prepared game survey reports for nine states. The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute used to provide funds for these game surveys.

In 1930, he played a pivotal part in formulating the American Game Policy as the chairman of the Game Policy Institute of the American Game Conference. This policy was adopted in the December 1930.

In 1933, he worked in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Wisconsin as a new chair of game management. In 1935, after getting a Carl Schruz fellowship, he went to Germany to study forestry and wildlife management.

In 1936, he set up a society of wildlife specialists. This society was later named as the Wildlife Society. In 1939, the University of Wisconsin appointed him as the chairman of a new Department of Wildlife Management.

In 1943, he took the responsibility of the Wisconsin Conservation Commission for a six-year term. During his tenure here, his active involvement in deer policy created much uproar.

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Personal Life & Legacy

He tied the nuptial knot with Estella Bergere on October 9, 1912. They had five children - Starke, Luna, Nina, Carl and Estella.

He authored “A Sand County Almanac”, his observation of nature. This book appeared posthumously in 1949. Through it, he openly criticized the harm done to natural systems by humans.

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Trivia

This celebrated environmentalist had a special aptitude for observation from his early childhood. During childhood, he devoted most of his time counting and cataloging birds near his home.

Aldo Leopold Biography