History of Iowa State: People of Distinction

Sponsored by the University Archives, Iowa State University Library

Copyright 2006

   Paul Lester Errington

Dr. Paul Lester Errington was born June 14, 1902 near Bruce, South Dakota. He earned a B.S. (1930) from South Dakota State College (University). He received his Ph.D. (1932) from the University of Wisconsin, where he studied under Leon Cole. At the University of Wisconsin, Errington met Aldo Leopold who would become his mentor, and they soon formed a close working relationship.

Dr. Errington joined the Iowa State faculty as a Research Assistant Professor (1932-1938) in zoology to establish and lead the first Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit in the United States. During his years at Iowa State, he was promoted to Research Associate Professor (1938-1948) and to Research Professor (1948-1962). Dr. Errington was considered an international authority on the phenomena of predation and automatic mechanisms of population regulation. His professional area of expertise included vertebrate ecology and population dynamics.

During his lifetime he was a member of numerous professional societies and was awarded the Aldo Leopold Medal in 1962. He wrote more than 200 articles and authored four books. His book Muskrat Populations (1963) was awarded the Iowa State University Press award for faculty publications in 1962.

Dr. Errington married Carolyn Storm in 1934. They raised two sons: Peter and Frederick. Dr. Errington died in 1962.

Resources available online

Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management