Robert Kennicott (November 13, 1835 – May 13, 1866) was an American naturalist and herpetologist. Chronic illness kept Kennicott out of school as a child. Instead, Kennicott spent most of his time outdoors, collecting plants and animals. His father schooled him at home and convinced naturalist Jared Potter Kirtland to take him as an understudy. Soon, Kennicott was providing specimens for the Smithsonian Institution via assistant secretary Spencer Fullerton Baird. Kennicott advocated for the study and protection of native prairie animals in an era when farmers sought to eradicate them. He teamed with Northwestern University to found a natural history museum in 1857, then founded the Chicago Academy of Sciences. While in Chicago he served as a mentor to several young naturalists, including William Healey Dall. He joined the Megatherium Club and studied specimens in Hudson Bay. The Western Union Telegraph Expedition commissioned Kennicott as a scientist for their excursion in the mid-1860s. Kennicott died on the expedition and was memorialized as the namesake of Alaska's Kennicott Glacier. His home, "The Grove" in Glenview, Illinois, is today recognized as a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service. Biography Robert Kennicott was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on November 13, 1835. His father, John Albert, was interested in botany and maintained a large land holding in Northfield Township, Cook County, Illinois, which came to be known as "The Grove". Robert was a sickly child and attempted to improve his overall health by spending much time outdoors. He did not attend school regularly, but his father ensured that he received an education at home. Under the tutelage of his father, Kennicott learned to patiently observe nature and began a collection of specimens. Jared Potter Kirtland, a friend of Kennicott's father and one of the leading naturalists in the west, agreed to take Robert as an understudy in late 1852. Kennicott wintered with Kirtland in East Rockport (now Lakewood), Ohio. Kirtland encouraged Kennicott to contact other naturalists, and soon Kennicott had come to the attention of Spencer Fullerton Baird, the assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. For the next thirteen years, Kennicott would correspond with Baird about his findings. As Illinois was still largely undocumented by naturalists, Baird encouraged Kennicott to send him specimens. In 1855, the Illinois Central Railroad commissioned the Illinois State Agricultural Society to prepare a survey of the state's natural resources. Kennicott's father was the secretary of the