Paul Henry Oehser (1904 – 1996) began his career in 1925 as an editor for the US Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Biological Survey. In 1931, he was appointed Editor the US National Museum and in 1950 assumed the position of Editor, Smithsonian Institution Editorial and Publications Division. Oehser also served as the Smithsonians Public Relations Office from 1950 to 1956. Upon his retirement in 1966, Oehser was made a Research Associate of the Smithsonian and became Editor of Research and Exploration Publications for the National Geographic Society. In addition, Oehser published poetry, books about the Smithsonian and its scientists, and was active in the conservation movement. His volume of poems, Fifty Poems, was published in 1954.