Archives West Finding Aid

Dr. Albert W. Herre was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1868, and grew up in central Illinois. During his early years he was a newspaper reporter for the Illinois State Register, then he went on to become the Assistant Superintendent of schools in Springfield until 1900. In 1891, Herre married Clara Mendonsa with whom he had five children: Inez, Dorothy, Albert, Helen, and Marion. Clara died of pneumonia in 1905 and, in 1907, Herre met and married Lizzie Bailey, a young widow with two children of her own.

During this time, Herre’s growing passion for biology inspired him to earn a Bachelor’s degree (1903), a Master’s degree (1906), and a Doctorate (1908) from Stanford, while also teaching biology at San Jose High School. He continued to teach until 1920, the last five years of which he served as head of the Science Department at Western Washington University (then called Western Washington Normal School).

In 1920, thanks to a growing reputation as a talented ichthyologist, Dr. Herre was appointed Chief of the Department of Fisheries of the Philippine Bureau of Science. While based in Manila, he published a wide number of surveys and papers, and also traveled to the surrounding areas including Japan and Borneo.

In 1929, Dr. Herre moved back to the United States to take the post of Curator of the Zoology Museum at Stanford University, where he remained for the next eighteen years. During his time as curator he also became a member of the Crane Pacific expedition, and traveled extensively around Haiti, Fiji, Panama, and New Guinea. In 1948, Dr. Herre was asked by the Director of the School of Fisheries at the University of Washington to make a collection of Philippine fishes. As part of this project, Dr. Herre managed to secure over 800 species, and was later offered a position in the Department of Fisheries at UW from 1948 to 1957. Dr. Herre continued to teach until 1920, the last five years of which he served as head of the Science Department at Western Washington University (then called Western Washington Normal School).

During the course of his life, Dr. Herre was the author of more than 205 papers, books, and article on fishes and fisheries. He was also the author of around 70 papers on lichens and other botanical subjects. In addition he has published numerous travel articles, poems, stories, educational papers, and miscellaneous sketches and essays.

Albert Herre died in Santa Cruz, CA, in 1962.