Robert Kennicott (1835-1866), a young American naturalist serving as Director of the Scientific Corps for the overland telegraph project, added more to the knowledge of northern flora and fauna than any other scientist. Like his fellow naturalist William Dall, he collected hundreds of natural history specimens for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, and his premature death at age 31 cut short a brilliant career.
Only 25 years old, Kennicott made his first trip to the Yukon in 1860, to study the birds and mammals of this unknown part of the continent.
