James Arthur Oliver

James Arthur Oliver (January 1, 1914 – December 2, 1981) was an American zoologist, herpetologist and educator who served as the director of the American Museum of Natural History, the New York Zoological Park (now the Bronx Zoo) and the New York Aquarium.

Early life, education and career beginnings Oliver was born in Caruthersville, Missouri before moving to St. Louis aged two when his father, a lawyer, was appointed a United States district attorney there. Fascinated with reptiles at an early age, Oliver during his teenage years would go on snake-hunting trips with Marlin Perkins, then the curator of reptiles at Saint Louis Zoo.

Oliver's appreciation of nature was based on the appeal that animals, particularly reptiles and amphibians, held for him. He saw them as wondrous in their own right and in the context of our planet's natural environment. He had a deep commitment to conservation of the environment for the sake of both the animals and people.

By the time Oliver attended university, he was interested in becoming a herpetologist. In 1932, he attended the University of Texas in Austin before transferring two years later to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he obtained his B.A. in 1936 and his M.A. degree in 1937. He continued his studies as a University Fellow from 1938 to 1940 and as a Hinsdale Scholar in 1940-1941 and completed courses for his Ph.D. in zoology which was conferred to him in 1942.

Whilst in graduate school, Oliver went on two expeditions to south Mexico to bring back reptiles for the University of Michigan's museum of zoology, where he was an assistant.

Oliver taught for a year, 1941–1942, as an instructor at the Northern Michigan College of Education in Marquette, before moving to New York City and becoming assistant curator in the herpetology department at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH).

Oliver was deeply committed to elevate the standards of professional quality in zoological parks and museums and to this end, in 1961 he was selected to serve as a member of the New York State education commissioner's committee to study the aims, needs and contributions of museums as educational institutions.