Member

Ted was born July 25, 1922, at Walter Reed Hospital, Washington, D.C. As a member of a military family, he traveled a great deal as a child and spent some time in the Philippine Islands prior to World War II. He graduated in 1945 with a DVM degree from the School of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State College, Manhattan, Kansas. He practiced veterinary medicine in Idaho and Oregon. As an assistant state veterinarian in Oregon he became involved in exotic animal medicine with colleagues at the Portland Zoo. He applied for and was accepted as the staff veterinarian at the National Zoological Park and entered the position on July 15, 1955. Ted's career as a full-time vet was brief, since Dr. William Mann's retirement was imminent. He was appointed acting director in October 1956 and named director of the Zoo on March 12, 1958. As director, Ted was involved with many animal acquisitions and traveled widely, most notably to Kenya in an effort to capture the bongo. White tiger, okapis, and pandas highlighted his career, but as director, Ted was the leader during a period of phenomenal growth. After S. Dillon Ripley became secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in 1964, the Zoo's budget became part of the Smithsonian's congressional appropriation. The enhanced monetary support allowed a complete renovation and expansion of the Zoo's facilities and staff, including the addition of a department of zoological research and a department of pathology. The staff of veterinarians was increased and a new hospital/research building, administration building, great ape house, large cat exhibit, and total renovation of almost every exhibit area led to recognition of the National Zoo as a world-class facility. The acquisition of the Front Royal, Virginia, Remount Station, and its conversion to a research and exotic breeding facility in 1974, was the crowning achievement in this phase of growth during Ted's administration. Ted stepped down as director on April 1, 1983, after 25 years of service. Ted married Mary Elizabeth Crandall on April 20, 1945. They had a son, Mark Crandall, and a daughter, Mary Alyee. Ted was elected to the Washington Biologists’ Field Club in 1956 and terminated his membership in 1985.