In memoriam: Miklos D. F. Udvardy, 1919-1998

Auk, The, Jan 1999 by Csuti, Blair, Brittan, Martin R

During a distinguished career on two continents, Miklos D. E Udvardy contributed 191 papers, 8 books, and 3 maps to the scientific literature, mostly in the fields of ornithology, biogeography, and vegetation classification. He joined the AOU in 1953, became an Elective Member in 1960, and a Fellow in 1974. He was also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Professor Emeritus, California State University, Sacramento. Dr. Udvardy died of surgical complications in Sacramento, California, on 27 January 1998. He is survived by his wife, Maud, three children, and two grandchildren.

Miklos Dezso Ferenc Udvardy, known as "Nick" to his many friends, was born in Debrecen, Hungary, on 23 March 1919, to Elizabeth Komlossy and Miklos Udvardy, an attorney and diplomat who served in the Hungarian State Department. His interest in birds can be traced to a book his grandfather gave him when he was seven. His father discouraged this early avocation as being impractical, and instead urged Nick to pursue a career in law. He wrote his bachelor's thesis at the University of Debrecen on the history of Petcheneg settlement in western Hungary. Udvardy traced his own family's origin to these nomadic Turkic tribes who sought asylum in Hungary from factional conflicts in what is now Romania during the 12th century. He remained closely involved with Hungary and pursued the advancement of Hungarian science and scientists throughout his life. During the Cold War, he made significant personal contributions to continue the flow of scientific journals to several Hungarian universities. He was especially pleased to be appointed an honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1993. The Academy flew its flag at half-staff upon notification of his death.

After studying law for two years, Udvardy went on to pursue biology. In 1942, he earned his doctorate from the University of Debrecen. His dissertation dealt with avian ecology and biogeography of the Hungarian Plains. His first position was research biologist at the Tihanyi Biological Station on Lake Balaton in western Hungary. He spent World War II in occupied Hungary, once escaping conscription by German forces when his parents hid him between mattresses on which his sick cousin lay as a decoy. In 1948, friends in the Hungarian government warned Udvardy of the impending Communist takeover, and he fled Hungary. He was able to secure a postdoctoral fellowship at Helsinki University, Finland, with Professor P. Palmgren, a well known ornithologist and zoologist. By 1950, he had moved to Uppsala, Sweden, having met his future wife, Maud Bjorklund, at a dinner party on a ferry liner from Stockholm. He was briefly Curator of Marine Invertebrates at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm.

Following their marriage in 1951, Nick and Maud emigrated to Canada. Nick arrived at the University of British Columbia in 1952 and was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Zoology the following year, lecturing in comparative anatomy and ornithology. He was fascinated by the ecological diversity of the province and quickly gained a good knowledge of the birds of western Canada. He remained at UBC until 1966, during which time he sponsored 12 master's and 6 doctoral students. While at UBC, he did much to further the British Columbia Nest Records Scheme, helping to develop a large data base on nesting biology of birds in the province. He developed a life-long interest in Hawaiian birds during a visiting professorship at the University of Hawaii in 1958-1959, and was Lida Scott Brown Lecturer in Ornithology at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1963-1964. Nick's contacts with ornithologists in western Europe resulted in the recruitment of many talented graduate students and visiting scholars to UBC. His generosity and humanitarian spirit led him to assist 210 students plus 30 faculty and their families from Sopron University's School of Forestry to enter Canada when they fled the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. Nick volunteered his services as interpreter and facilitator, and helped speed the refugees' establishment in their new home.

From 1967 until his retirement in 1991, he served as Professor of Biological Sciences at California State University, Sacramento, sponsoring eight graduate students. During this period, he spent a year each as Visiting Professor at the University of Bonn, Germany, and as Fulbright Lecturer at the National University of Honduras. At the 1986 meeting of the Western Field Ornithologists, Udvardy delivered a major address on standards for bird atlases, which gave direction to fledgling atlas projects in California. In retirement he was a consultant to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and, since 1995, he served on the Ecological Society of America's Vegetation Classification Panel, working toward a uniform classification of North American vegetation. His multinational career was possible because he spoke English, German, Swedish, Spanish, and some French, in addition to his native Hungarian. Supplementing his verbal fluency, Nick also read Latin, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, and Norwegian.