In Memoriam: Adriaan Joseph van Rossem

Abstract

BY ALDEN H. MILLER ADRIAAN VAN ROSSEM was a colorful, dynamic and highly competent ornithologist of international reputation who was lost while at the crest of his accomplishments at the age of 56. I knew him well from daily companionship in the field and from long professional contact. In the six years since his death, while thinking back over the events of his life, I have become convinced that his distaste for any show of sentimentalism and his inclination for blunt and incisive appraisal of self and others reflected a desire that his career be recorded with candor. "Van" was a man of startling and often puzzling contrasts. Personal charm and consideration shown toward some people were balanced against thoughtlessness and bitterness toward others. Generous acclaim and support of colleagues was often warmly expressed by him while competitive feuds grew apace in other quarters. And one can note that skillful cultivation of some lines of support and backing seemed not in keeping with his self-declared lack of diplomacy. Accurate, sensitive, and significant scientific work alternated with hasty, emotionally promulgated offerings. Nothing was ever gray or indecisive; matters were always black or white, or red. The most constant feature of his make up, and one to be deeply admired by every ornithologist, was a complete and never-lagging interest in birds. Nothing else really mattered; all other things could ruthlessly be put aside. The buoyancy of his enthusiasm in the field and the museum seemed undiminished in his last years from that of the youthful twelve-year-old collector operating in the Arroyo Seco near Pasadena. Adriaan Joseph van Rossem was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 17, 1892, the son of Adriaan Cornelis van Rossem and Josephine Williams van Rossem. His father was a member of a family well known in municipal and business circles in Rotterdam, Holland, and in the Dutch East Indies. Following residence in London he had come to Chicago as a convenient point for international business exchange. A. C. van Rossem had had European collegiate training and possessed excellent linguistic ability. On November 11, 1891, he married Josephine Williams. Her father, Joseph Williams of Goderich, Ontario, was engaged in timber, manufacturing, and shipping business in the Great Lakes area and was widely known for his interest in educational institutions. In August of 1894, A. C. van Rossem's health occasioned alarm and visits to Holland