Harry M. Wegeforth facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Harry M. Wegeforth
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| Born |
Harry Milton Wegefarth
January 7, 1882 Baltimore, Maryland, US
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| Died | June 25, 1941 (aged 59) San Diego, California, US
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| Nationality | American |
| Education |
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| Occupation | Physician |
| Known for | Founded the Zoological Society of San Diego and San Diego Zoo |
| Title | President of the Zoological Society of San Diego |
| Term | 1916–41 |
| Successor | Wesley C. Crandall |
| Spouse(s) | Rachel Granger (1913–41; his death) |
| Parent(s) |
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Harry Milton Wegeforth (born Harry Milton Wegefarth, January 7, 1882 – June 25, 1941) was an American doctor. He is famous for starting the San Diego Zoo and the Zoological Society of San Diego.
Harry Wegeforth was also a successful doctor in San Diego. He even led the City Board of Health for a short time. He also worked as a surgeon for a railway company. But his biggest achievement was creating the San Diego Zoo. He got the idea during the Panama–California Exposition in 1916.
From 1916 until he passed away in 1941, Wegeforth was the president of the Zoological Society. He helped plan the Zoo's layout and its first animal exhibits. He convinced rich people in San Diego to donate money for the Zoo. He also worked to get public votes to secure land and money for the Zoo.
Wegeforth connected with other zoos across the country. He even started a group called the National Association of Zoological Executives. This group later became the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. After a heart attack in 1931, he stopped being a doctor. He then spent his last years traveling the world. He collected and traded animals for the San Diego Zoo. Today, an amphitheatre at the Zoo and an elementary school in San Diego are named after him.
Contents
Harry Wegeforth's Early Life
Harry Wegefarth was born in Baltimore. He was one of seven children. His father, Conrad Wegefarth, was a German immigrant and oil prospector. His mother, Mary Elizabeth MacArthur, was from Scotland and Ireland. Harry had many brothers and sisters.
From a young age, Harry loved animals. He read books about them and played with toy animals. He looked for crabs in Chesapeake Bay and snakes in the woods. He even sold the snakes to his neighbors! When he was twelve, he became interested in tightrope walking. He practiced with circus performers and even went on tour with them. But his older brother Charles brought him home. Charles later drowned, which made Harry dislike swimming. He never swam and told his family not to either.
Harry's Education and Medical Training
Harry followed his older brothers into studying medicine. At age fifteen, he got a job with the Baltimore Health Department. After getting sick with influenza, he thought he had tuberculosis. A brother told him to move to Colorado for his health. So, at sixteen, he worked as a cowboy for almost four years. He herded Texas Longhorn cattle and finished high school by mail.
Once he recovered, he went back to Baltimore. He studied at Baltimore Medical College. He paid for school by working in drug stores. He also taught anatomy in the winters. In the summers, he worked on his sister-in-law's farm. He became a Doctor of Medicine in May 1906. Then, he trained further at Johns Hopkins University. He chose to specialize in surgery. He worked as an assistant bacteriologist for Baltimore. Later, he became the first surgeon at the Baltimore General Dispensary.
Harry's Career as a Doctor
Starting His Medical Practice (1908–1915)
In 1908, Wegeforth left Baltimore. He wanted to find a place to open his own medical office. He traveled west and arrived in San Diego. He passed the California State Board of Medicine exams. In 1910, he opened his office in downtown San Diego. It was in the Granger Building. The building's owner, Ralph Granger, was a rich man.
Harry married Ralph Granger's daughter, Rachel, on November 14, 1913. He was 31, and she was 20. Around this time, Harry changed how he spelled his last name to Wegeforth.
When he first started in San Diego, the Sheriff often asked him to treat prisoners. Harry became interested in orthopedic surgery. He studied special techniques in Baltimore and New York. His sister Emma moved to San Diego to help him. She was his housekeeper and medical secretary.
In 1912, he became the president of the City Board of Health. He worked to make the city's food safer. He wanted milk and food tested for bacteria. He also wanted to publish the names of suppliers who didn't meet standards. But the mayor and city council didn't support him. He criticized them in newspapers and was fired. However, a newspaper praised his efforts.
As his medical practice grew, Wegeforth became known for his ability to diagnose illnesses. In 1915, his brothers Paul and Arthur also moved to San Diego. Paul, a brain surgeon, joined Harry's practice. Arthur led the San Diego Hospital-Clinic until he died in 1939.
Creating the San Diego Zoo
Founding the Zoological Society and San Diego Zoo (1916–1922)
It took ordinary persistence, and the organization of teamwork among others. I tried never to lose heart. Whenever anybody started to knock my plans, I just kept right on boosting them. The idea of failure never entered my mind. Of course it was hard at first, but when they saw I was really making good, that I meant business and San Diego was going to have a high class zoo, they came through nobly.
In 1916, Harry and Paul Wegeforth worked as surgeons for the Panama–California Exposition. It was held in Balboa Park. Harry was also on the Exposition's board. He had an idea to start a zoo using the exotic animals left after the Exhibition closed.
He said his idea came on September 16, 1916. He and Paul were driving and heard lions roaring from an exhibit. Harry told his brother, "Wouldn't it be splendid if San Diego had a zoo! You know... I think I'll start one." Paul offered to help, but thought it would be hard.
The brothers announced their idea in the San Diego Union newspaper. They asked interested people to join them. They wanted to form a zoological society to create a zoo. On October 2, 1916, they held the first meeting. Harry was the first president, and Paul was the secretary. The Society officially formed on December 11, 1916.
The San Diego Zoo started as a line of cages. Wegeforth called it "little more than Menagerie Row." It had lions, bears, ducks, lynxes, and other animals. Most of these animals came from a closed amusement park nearby. Others were given by the Park Department or donated. To feed the animals, Wegeforth asked fishermen for fish. He also asked farmers for hay and collected fruits and vegetables.
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Paul Wegeforth joined the United States Army. Harry also wanted to join but was rejected for health reasons. The Society faced money problems. So, Wegeforth organized a track and field meet. It was between the Navy and Marine Corps. The money from ticket sales helped the Society.
In 1918, he made a deal with the Balboa Park Commission. The City of San Diego would own the Zoo's animals and property. But the Zoological Society would manage them. Harry volunteered for the Army Medical Corps again. He became a captain in July 1918. He resigned from the Society's Board. But the war ended before he went overseas. In January 1919, he returned to San Diego. He went back to being a doctor and president of the Society. He started building reptile cages. He also began trading animals with other zoos. For example, he traded two brown bear cubs for a polar bear.
Wegeforth wanted almost ten percent of Balboa Park for the Zoo. But some people wanted the land to stay open. He studied other zoos' designs. He rode his Arabian stallion through the Zoo's new land. He planned its design and exhibits. He did much of the planning in his medical office. He met with builders and designers there.
Many rich people in San Diego gave money to the Zoo. Wegeforth also went on trips to other zoos and countries. He collected animals himself instead of using dealers. He often traded local animals like rattlesnakes and sea lions for exotic ones like elephants and koalas.
Growing the Zoo and Starting a Hospital (1923–1930)
As the Zoo grew, Wegeforth's medical practice also became busier. He spent weekends and vacations at the Zoo. He even spent his lunch breaks there, giving instructions and talking with the staff.
He was very involved in managing the Zoo. This, along with early money problems, caused many zoo directors to leave. One famous director was Frank Buck. He became temporary director on June 13, 1923. But Buck and Wegeforth often disagreed. Buck left after three months to go back to collecting animals.
In 1927, after several other short-term directors, Wegeforth hired the Zoo's bookkeeper, Belle Benchley. He made her the executive secretary. He soon realized she was acting like the Zoo's director. So, he gave her that title. For the next 15 years, they worked together. They turned the Zoo from a small collection into a world-class zoo.
Wegeforth and Neil Morgan wrote a book about the San Diego Zoo. It was called It Began With a ROAR! Wegeforth continued to lead the Zoo until he died of a heart attack on June 25, 1941.
Other Community Activities
In 1926, Harry Wegeforth helped buy the sailing ship Star of India. This ship is now a museum in San Diego Bay.
Harry's Personal Life
Wegeforth married Rachel Granger in 1913. Her father was the rich Ralph Granger. Their wedding was at a new house in the Burlingame neighborhood. They lived there for a year. This house is now a Historical Landmark in San Diego. Later, they lived in a bigger home in the Marston Hills area. They had two sons, Lester and Milton.
Wegeforth loved cars. He bought a new Overland Automobile around the time he got married. In 1923, he bought an expensive Packard car. He had it painted fire engine red. He also loved music and researched the latest phonographs. His hobbies included building radios, shooting, and photography. He took many color slides of the Zoo and his travels. He was a 32nd-degree Mason. He also joined many social clubs in San Diego. For fun, he enjoyed football, baseball, and horseback riding. His favorite author was Rudyard Kipling. His favorite book was Kim.
Of all the animals he helped get for the Zoo, he especially loved turtles and tortoises. He traded for them at many zoos during his travels. He wanted to build a large collection at the San Diego Zoo. He even decorated his office with pictures of them. Once, a visitor from another zoo was surprised. He found that the San Diego Zoo had 48 turtle basins. It probably had the largest collection of turtles in the world!
Harry Wegeforth's Legacy
No one person gave so much of his personal energy, interest, devotion, and very life to the development of a public project as Doctor Harry gave to the creation of the Zoo. Certainly no benefactor was more self-effacing.
Wegeforth was very humble. He didn't take much credit for creating the San Diego Zoo. He asked journalists to use the Zoological Society's name instead of his own. He wanted it to seem like a group effort, not just one person's work. He preferred to give credit to others who helped or donated.
In 1936, the Zoo's amphitheatre was named the Wegeforth Bowl in his honor. When a special plaque was shown for him, Wegeforth was thankful. But he told officials that the money for the plaque would have been better spent on buying an animal.
Harry M. Wegeforth Elementary School opened in San Diego in 1957. The school site was officially dedicated on February 9, 1959. Mrs. Harry Wegeforth and their family were there.
Images for kids
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Wegeforth's house in the Burlingame neighborhood, now a historical site
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Plaque on the Wegeforth house designating it as City of San Diego Historical Site no. 163
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Wegeforth's later house in the Marston Hills neighborhood
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The Wegeforth Bowl at the San Diego Zoo, decorated for the Zoo's centennial
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Interior of the Wegeforth Bowl in 2015
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Harry M. Wegeforth Elementary School, in San Diego's Serra Mesa community
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Harry M. Wegeforth Children's Center, a day care facility adjacent to Wegeforth Elementary
