2017年11月3日 · After the war, while working at the National Museum of Natural History, he traveled the world’s oceans collecting marine specimens, taught himself geology and paleontology, and wrote an important catalog of nautiloids and cephalopods that is …

Louis Rayfield Purnell, Sr. (April 5, 1920 – August 10, 2001) was a noted curator at the United States' National Air and Space Museum and earlier in life, a decorated Tuskegee Airman.

In 1961, Purnell joined the Division of Invertebrate Paleontology and Paleobotany in the National Museum of Natural History. In 1968, he moved to the Department of Astronautics of the National Air and Space Museum.

2021年2月20日 · We discovered Louis R. Purnell, the First African American Paleontologist per the Smithsonian in my post January 16, 2021 “Fossils”. His amazing career began as a Tuskegee Airman and his interest in Geology & Paleontology led him on a path to be the First African American Curator of the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum in 1980.

2020年2月27日 · Because of his curiosity and quest for knowledge, Dr. Purnell earned a degree from Howard University in Paleontology and Oceanography according to Gregory Purnell. Purnell also says some of his...

2021年4月13日 · Louis R. Purnell was interviewed for the Oral History Collection because of his long career at the Institution, including fifteen years as Curator of Astronautics at the National Air and Space Museum, and his pioneering work as an African American professional.

Louis R. Purnell was interviewed for the Oral History Collection because of his long career at the Institution, including fifteen years as Curator of Astronautics at the National Air and Space Museum, and his pioneering work as an African American professional.

2001年8月14日 · Louis Rayfield Purnell Sr., who went from decorated Tuskegee airman to curator of air and space relics at the Smithsonian, died on Friday at his home in Washington. He was 81. The cause was...

2024年2月1日 · The Smithsonian's first African American curator, Louis R. Purnell, was known for his extensive work and study in paleontology, oceanography and in aeronautics. Louis R. Purnell is largely known for his work in identifying, cataloging and tagging specimens while traveling the world on several oceanographic expeditions.

Louis R. Purnell becomes curator of the Department of Space Science of the National Air and Space Museum, thus becoming the Smithsonian Institution's first African American curator. Purnell was a Tuskegee Airman who started working for the Smithsonian Institution in 1961 as a Museum Specialist with the National Museum of Natural History.