Scientist and Scholar. He was born in Thetford, Vermont, and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1889. Worcester was a member of the 1887 Steere expedition to the Philippines, and remained at the University of Michigan as a botanist and zoologist throughout the 1890s. Following the Spanish-American War, in 1899 he was appointed to the first Philippine Commission. From 1901 to 1913 Worcester served as Secretary of the Interior for the territorial government. One of the first naturalists to specialize in the Philippines, he explored extensively, photographed the native people, flora and fauna, and published several books and articles. His works included: The Philippine Islands and Their People (1898); The Non-Christian Tribes of Northern Luzon (1906); The Philippines Past and Present (two volumes, 1913); One Year of the New Era (1914); Field Sports Among the Wild Men of Northern Luzon (1911); Slavery and Peonage in the Philippine Islands (1913); and A History of Asiatic Cholera in the Philippine Islands (1908). In 1913 he was made Vice-President of the American Philippine Company. Upon leaving official service, Worcester remained on the islands as business executive for the Philippine Refining Corporation and other companies until his death in 1924. He died of heart disease in Manila, The Philippines. In 2009 a bird named for him and thought to be extinct, Worcester's Buttonquail, was photographed and filmed at a Philippines poultry market, providing a unique research opportunity for zoologists.
Scientist and Scholar. He was born in Thetford, Vermont, and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1889. Worcester was a member of the 1887 Steere expedition to the Philippines, and remained at the University of Michigan as a botanist and zoologist throughout the 1890s. Following the Spanish-American War, in 1899 he was appointed to the first Philippine Commission. From 1901 to 1913 Worcester served as Secretary of the Interior for the territorial government. One of the first naturalists to specialize in the Philippines, he explored extensively, photographed the native people, flora and fauna, and published several books and articles. His works included: The Philippine Islands and Their People (1898); The Non-Christian Tribes of Northern Luzon (1906); The Philippines Past and Present (two volumes, 1913); One Year of the New Era (1914); Field Sports Among the Wild Men of Northern Luzon (1911); Slavery and Peonage in the Philippine Islands (1913); and A History of Asiatic Cholera in the Philippine Islands (1908). In 1913 he was made Vice-President of the American Philippine Company. Upon leaving official service, Worcester remained on the islands as business executive for the Philippine Refining Corporation and other companies until his death in 1924. He died of heart disease in Manila, The Philippines. In 2009 a bird named for him and thought to be extinct, Worcester's Buttonquail, was photographed and filmed at a Philippines poultry market, providing a unique research opportunity for zoologists.
Bio by: Bill McKern
Family Members
Siblings
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