Oliver Payne Pearson
Zoologist
Renowned zoologist and ecologist remembered for his research on vole populations as well as the biology of mammals found in South America. He served as a professor of zoology at UC Berkley and the curator of mammals at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology.
He was born in Philadelphia and earned his PhD from Harvard University in 1947.
The following rodent species were named after him: pearsonomys, ctenomys pearsoni and andalgalomys pearsoni.
He married Anita Kelley, with whom he had four children, in 1948.
He and polar bear expert Steve Amstrup are both their American zoologists.