Su Lin ( 1930s giant panda ) - wikipedia Su Lin ( 1930s giant panda ) This article is about the first live panda brought to US. For the San Diego panda cub, see Su Lin, 2005. The body of Su Lin is now on display at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Ruth Elizabeth Harkness and Su Lin Su Lin ( Chinese : 蘇 琳 ; pinyin : Sūlín ) was the name given to the giant panda cub captured in 1936 and brought to America by the explorer Ruth Harkness. The first panda kept outside of China, it would die just two years later, but marked the beginning of an extensive series of pandas being taken abroad from China. History Harkness mentioned in her 1938 book The Baby Giant Panda that the capture took place within a day 's walk from the Min River in Sichuan. Su Lin, about 9 weeks old at the time of his capture, was named after Su - Lin Young, the sister - in - law of Harkness 's Chinese - American expedition partner Quentin Young. Harkness translated Su Lin as meaning `` a little bit of something very cute ''. ( Harkness and Young were unaware that the baby panda was, in fact, a male. ) Harkness returned to America with the bottle - fed cub, and Su Lin became the first live panda to be displayed in the United States. In April 1937, the panda was purchased by Brookfield Zoo outside of Chicago, where he was visited by such celebrities as Shirley Temple, Kermit Roosevelt, and Helen Hayes. Harkness brought a second panda, Mei - Mei, to be a companion for Su Lin at the zoo in February 1938. However, the two animals fought with each other, and were soon separated. Su Lin died of pneumonia only a few weeks after Mei - Mei 's arrival. He was replaced by Mei - Lan the following year. References ^ Jump up to : SPatricia Sullivan. `` Adelaide ' Su - Lin ' Young, 96, Explorer and Panda Namesake ''. The Washington Post. May 22, 2008. Retrieved on November 17, 2009. Jump up ^ Harkness, Ruth. The Baby Giant Panda, 1938. New York : Carrick & Evans. p. 36. Jump up ^ Vicki Constantine Croke. The Lady and the Panda. Random House, 2006. 129. Jump up ^ `` Animals : He or She ? '' Time. May 1, 1939. Retrieved on November 17, 2009. Jump up ^ Andrea Frederici Ross. Let the Lions Roar. Chicago Zoological Society. 1997. 64 - 67. Jump up ^ Time Inc ( 30 June 1941 ). `` Panda Love : Mei - Mei Courts Her Beau and Gets Nowhere at All ''. LIFE. Time Inc. 10 ( 26 ) : 55 -- 56. ISSN 0024 - 3019. Retrieved 9 June 2011. Famous giant pandas Panda diplomacy Bai Yun Bao Bao Bei Bei Chi Chi Chuang Chuang Gao Gao Gu Gu Hua Mei Jia Jia Lin Bing Lin Hui Ling Ling Ling - Ling and Hsing - Hsing Lun Lun Mei Lan Mei Sheng Mei Xiang Ming Ming Shi Shi Su Lin ( 1930s ) Su Lin ( born 2005 ) Tai Shan Taotao Tian Tian ♂ Tian Tian ♀ Tohui Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan Xi Lan Xiang Xiang Xiao Liwu Xin Xin Wang Wang and Funi Yang Yang Yuan Zai Yun Zi Zhen Zhen Individual giant pandas Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Su_Lin_(1930s_giant_panda)&oldid=809050768 '' Categories : Individual giant pandas Collection of the Field Museum of Natural History Individual animals in the United States Hidden categories : Articles containing Chinese - language text Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 6 November 2017, at 21 : 02. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: when did the first panda come to america
Answer: 1936