Bernhard Eduard Fernow papers

Biographical History

Bernhard Eduard Fernow was born on January 7, 1851 in Inowrazlaw, Prussia (now Inowraclaw, Poland), son of Eduard and Clara Nordmann Fernow. He entered the forest service in 1869, worked fo a year, and then entered the Prussian Forest Academy in Muenden, Germany. In 1870, he left the Forest Academy to serve as a lieutenant in the Prussian army during the Franco–Prussian War. After the war, he attended the University of Königsberg in Bayern, Germany, where he studied law. He returned to Muenden and obtained his license of forestry in 1873. In 1876, Fernow moved to the Unite States and continued his career in forestry, residing mainly in New York State. He married Olivia Reynolds in 1879 and the couple had five children. He co–founded the American Forestry Congress, a national congress of foresters interested in the establishment of forest management policy in 1882. Fernow was named Chief of the Division of Forestry for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1886. Th following year, he was named Honorary Curator of the United States Natural Museum and was involve in numerous expositions. He helped establish the New York State College of Forestry at Cornell University and was Dean of the College from 1898–1903. He organized other forestry schools, taught Pennsylvania State College (1907), and served as Dean of the Faculty of Forestry at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (1907–1919).

Throughout his life, Fernow was involved in numerous forestry associations and wrote extensively on the subject. He founded theJournal of Forestryand was its editor until 1922. He authoredEconomics of Forestry,A Brief History of Forestry in Europe, the United States, and Other Countries, andThe Care of Trees in Lawn, Street, and Park. Fernow held three honorary LL.D. (Doctor of Laws) degrees from the University of Wisconsin (1896), Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario (1903), and the University of Toronto (1923). Fernow was a pioneer in the study of scientific forestry and forestry education in the United States and Canada. He supported conservation methods that would enhance natural beauty of forests and yet not destroy the economic interests of lumber and other industries. He is credited with raising th consciousness of Americans and Canadians regarding environmental issues, giving dignity to the movement, and supplying leadership and expertise in legislative efforts. Fernow died February 6, 1923