  sidney dillon ripley ii (september 20, 1913 â march 12, 2001) was an american ornithologist and wildlife conservationist. he served as secretary of the smithsonian institution for 20 years, from 1964 to 1984, leading the institution through its period of greatest growth and expansion. for his leadership at the smithsonian he was awarded the presidential medal of freedom by ronald reagan in 1985. ==biography== ===early life=== ripley was born in new york city and studied at st. paul's school in concord, new hampshire. in 1936 he graduated with a bachelor of arts (b.a.) from yale university. his great-grandfather, sidney dillon, was president of the union pacific railroad. ===education=== thumb|ripley in front of the smithsonian quadrangle complex thumb|ripley & unidentified children with "uncle beazley," the dinosaur at the opening of the anacostia neighborhood museum, september 15, 1967 a visit to india at age 13, along with his sister, included a walking tour into ladakh and western tibet. this led to his lifelong interest in the birds of india. he decided that birds were more interesting than law, and he began studying zoology at columbia university. as a part of his study, ripley participated in the denison-crockett expedition to new guinea in 1937-1938 and the vanderbilt expedition to sumatra in 1939.[http://sia
1913_births 2001_deaths American_Episcopalians American_ornithologists Columbia_University_alumni Guggenheim_Fellows Harvard_University_alumni People_of_the_Office_of_Strategic_Services Secretaries_of_the_Smithsonian_Institution Yale_University_alumni