Iowa History Daily: January 11 - Rand Aldo Leopold

Iowa History Daily: On January 11, 1887, famed American naturalist, writer, ecologist, and conservation (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’s early life featured many expeditions into the outdoors with his father. He later recalled spending many hours cataloging birds, as well as 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 during 1924. In 1933, the University of Wisconsin hired Leopold as the first professor of wildlife management.

Shortly after Leopold’s death 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 throughout the world think about the natural world around them. #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar