Fairchild, Alexander Graham Bell

Alexander Fairchild, known to family and friends as Sandy, was born in Washington, DC, on August 17, 1906. His father, David Fairchild, was a botanist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who was interested in many aspects of natural history and had even published a book of insect photographs. It was he who encouraged Sandy’s interest in nature. In 1921 and again in 1924 he visited Panama, where his father was working. From September 1924 to 1926 he accompanied his parents on a voyage to England and thence to Indonesia, with many stops and side-trips to parts of western Europe, and northern Africa. His opportunities to collect insects were not wasted, and he knew by then that he wanted to become an entomologist. His education to this point had been slight, and in 1926 he entered a preparatory school to acquire enough education to enter university. In 1928 he entered Harvard University, and received a B.S. degree in biology in 1932. At Harvard he encountered Charles Brues, Frank...