Archives West Finding Aid

Dr. Lynds Jones taught ornithology and other natural history subjects at Oberlin College for over 60 years. He received his A. B. degree from Oberlin in 1892 and taught ornithology on a private basis until 1895, when Oberlin College became the first college in the United States to offer coursework in ornithology. He also married Clara Tallmon in 1892. In 1905, Jones received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and was elevated to Associate Professor. Three years later he became Associate Professor of Animal Ecology, and he rose to the rank of Professor in 1922. In 1907 Jones traveled west with friend and ornithologist William L. Dawson. Lynds and Clara later led a series of summer ecology trips to the Washington coast, beginning in 1915 and continuing into the 1920s. These credit-based expeditions were designed to give his students a basic understanding of the ecology of the Western United States. Their son, George T. Jones, primarily a botanist, apparently accompanied them on at least one of the trips. Dr. Lynds Jones retired from Oberlin in 1930.