Description: [view in Spanish][edan-image:id=siris_sic_6874,size=185,left]Alexander Wetmore was the sixth secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He developed an early interest in natural history and published his first paper on birds at the age of thirteen. He received a B.S. from the University of Kansas (1912) and and M.S. and Ph. D. from George Washington University (1916 &
Description: [view in Spanish][edan-image:id=siris_sic_7144,size=200,right]During construction of the Panama Canal at the start of the century, many laborers died of malaria and yellow fever. To find ways to control the diseases, North American biologists came to the isthmus of Panama. Some of these scientists were so impressed by the diversity of the natural environment that they later