Herbert R. Axelrod

Herbert Richard Axelrod (June 7, 1927 – May 15, 2017) was an American tropical fish expert, a publisher of pet books, and an entrepreneur.

Early life Axelrod was born to a Jewish family in New Jersey, the son of immigrant parents from Russia. His father was a mathematics and violin teacher, and his mother was a civilian employee of the U.S. Navy. Although the fish had been discovered in Brazil in 1953 by Harald Sioli, a discus collector, Axelrod claimed that he had made the discovery himself during a steamboat trip on the Rio Negro, and he sent fish that he purchased from a dealer in New Jersey to the Smithsonian Institution, where the species was identified. which the university says is one of the largest donations by an individual to a Canadian university. The Axelrod Institute of Ichthyology at that university was named for him. The University of Guelph also named a lecture hall after him, the Axelrod Building, but in 2010 renamed it the Alexander Building, after Lincoln Alexander.

In 1997 Axelrod sold TFH Publications to Central Garden & Pet Company of California for $70 million. The contract included potential payouts to Axelrod if TFH reached earnings targets after the sale. He sued under that provision, accusing Central Garden of suppressing earnings to avoid paying the extra money. The following year, however, the purchaser filed a countersuit against him, claiming that he had grossly and illegally inflated the value of the company before the purchase. On September 1, 2005, Axelrod was ordered to pay Central Garden & Pet Company $16.4 million (net, after deducting $3.7 million the company was ordered to pay Axelrod due to earnings targets).

Musical instruments collection

Axelrod, a violinist himself, assembled a large collection of old and rare stringed instruments, including the Hellier Stradivarius. In 1975 he bought his first Stradivarius violin. and then extradited to the United States. On March 21, 2005 he was sentenced in U.S. court to 18 months in prison for tax fraud.

Legacy

The cardinal tetra, Paracheirodon axelrodi, was named for Axelrod.

For his philanthropy, the Smithsonian Institution named Axelrod their 1999 Donor of the Year.

Axelrodia, a genus of characin from South America, is named for him.

A number of fish species are also named for him, including The cardinal tetra Paracheirodon axelrodi (L. P. Schultz, 1956), The Trinidad tetra Hyphessobrycon axelrodi (Travassos, 1959), The black neon tetra Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi Géry, 1961, The pink corydoras catfish Corydoras axelrodi Rössel, 1962, The African fish Neolebias axelrodi Poll & J. P. Gosse, 1963, The South American characin Schultzites axelrodi Géry, 1964 which is in a genus all by itself, The South American characin Brittanichthys axelrodi Géry, 1965, The Southeast Asian Sundadanio axelrodi (Brittan, 1976), is a danionin in the family Cyprinidae, with origin from Borneo, Bangka, and Sumatra. The Lake Malawi cichlid Cynotilapia axelrodi W. E. Burgess, 1976, The rainbowfish Chilatherina axelrodi G. R. Allen, 1979, The mawsoniid Axelrodichthys spp. John G. Maisey, 1986, The blenny Ecsenius axelrodi V. G. Springer, 1988, The marine fish Pseudogramma axelrodi G. R. Allen & D. R. Robertson, 1995, The Lake Tebera rainbowfish Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodi G. R. Allen, 1981, The cichlid Parananochromis axelrodi Lamboj & Stiassny, 2003, The African Labeobarbus axelrodi (Getahun, Stiassny & Teugels, 2004), and A tube-snouted ghost knifefish Sternarchorhynchus axelrodi de Santana & Vari, 2010.

Selected publications Handbook of Tropical Aquarium Fishes, McGraw-Hill, 1955. Saltwater Aquarium Fishes, TFH Publications, 1987. Lovebirds As a New Pet, TFH Publications, 1990. Swordtails and Platies, TFH Publications, 1991. African Cichlids of Lakes Malawi and Tanganyika, TFH Publications, 1988. Aquarium Fishes of the World, TFH Publications, 1998. Dr. Axelrod's Atlas of Freshwater Aquarium Fishes, TFH Publications, 2004.

Taxa described by him See :Category:Taxa named by Herbert R. Axelrod