Aldo Leopold: Iowa Time Machine January 11, 1887

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 11, 1887, famed American naturalist, writer, ecologist, and conservationist (Rand) Aldo Leopold was born in Burlington, Iowa. An influential voice for environmental ethics and wilderness conservation, Leopold’s “A Sand County Almanac” continues to inspire people around the world.

Born to a Burlington walnut desk maker named Carl Leopold, Aldo spent his early life on many expeditions into the outdoors with his father. He later recalled spending many hours cataloging birds and fond memories of hunting and other adventures in nature. Leopold attended Prospect Hill Elementary and Burlington High School.

After a year of preparation at The Lawrenceville School, Leopold entered Yale’s School of Forestry. After graduation, he entered the US Forest Service and served in several locations around the country before ultimately landing in Wisconsin at the US Forest Products Laboratory in Madison in 1924. In 1933, the University of Wisconsin hired Leopold as the first professor of wildlife management.

Shortly after Leopold died in 1949, his “A Sand County Almanac” debuted. A staple of the conservation and naturalist canon, many of Leopold’s concepts, including “The Land Ethic” and trophic cascades, still shape how many people around the world think about the natural world. #Iowa #OTD #History #Ecology #Writing