The C. Hart Merriam Award is given annually by the American Society of Mammalogists for "outstanding research in mammalogy".[1]
The Merriam Award was established in 1974. Before 1996 the award was given for "outstanding contributions to mammalogy through research, teaching, and service".[1] The award is named in honor of C. Hart Merriam (1855–1942). He was not only a founding member of the American Society of Mammalogists and a physician with an M.D. from Columbia University, but also "naturalist, ethnologist, explorer, scholar, lecturer, author, personal friend of Presidents ..."[2]