Spencer Fullerton Baird was born in Reading, Pennsylvania on February 3, 1823. Baird acted as an educator, scientist, and administrator throughout his lifetime as he furthered the field of the scientific collection of biological specimens at Dickinson College, the Smithsonian Institution, and the U.S. Commission on Fish and Fisheries. Baird died on August 19, 1887 in Wood’s Hole, Massachusetts. (By Rebecca Solnit)