Hermon Carey Bumpus (1862-1943) received the Pugsley Gold Medal for outstanding service in the field of national park education. He was born in Buckfield, Maine in 1862. At Dorchester High School he became a close friend of the sont of Marshall P. Wilder who was president of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. Wilder had extensive greenhouses on his estate and these stimulated early interest in nature that Bumpus evinced. In 1879, he entered Brown University which was assembling a substantial natural sciences museum. He was appointed as assistant with the preparation of specimens. In 1886, after completing the Ph.D, he was offered a professorship in the department of bilology at Olivet College in Michigan. In 1890, Brown University recruited Bumpus to return and establish a substantial graduate and research program in biology. He was a member of board of trustees for Marine Biological Laboratory from 1897- 1942.
In 1906, Bumpus was instrumental in froming the American Association of Museums and became its first president. His work at Winconsin attracted the attention of Tufts College, which offered him the presidency there in 1914. Dr. Bumpuse became chairman of National Parks Advisory Board and directed its affairs until 1940 when at the age of 78 his physicians advised him to resign because of heart ailment. He was an unselfish public servant, and for many years he served in advisory positions which involved ardous travel and long hours of work, never accepting more than out-of-pocket expense reimbersement for his efforts.