William Erwood Old Jr.
William Erwood Old Jr.
Born	(1928-04-14)April 14, 1928 Norfolk, Virginia
Died	December 31, 1982(1982-12-31) (aged 54) New York City
Nationality	American
Known for	specialist on marine molluscs
Scientific career
Fields	malacology
Institutions	American Museum of Natural History

William Erwood Old Jr. usually known as Bill Old, (14 April 1928 in Norfolk, Virginia – 31 December 1982 in New York City)^[1] was an American malacologist.^[2]

He attended The College of William & Mary in Virginia.^[1] He served in the army during the Korean War.^[1]

He joined the American Museum of Natural History in 1960.^[1] He helped build the American Museum's mollusc collection into a leading research resource.^[1] He was the first collections manager^{[citation needed]} in malacology at the American Museum of Natural History.

He became a specialist in marine molluscs.^[1] He was extremely devoted to his science and was well known as a shell show judge in many parts of the United States.^[1] He went on several expeditions including ones to the Galapagos and Mexico.^[1]

Old was president of the American Malacological Society from 1978 to 1979, and president of the New York Shell Club from 1963 to 1965.^{[citation needed]}

He died of a heart attack in 1982.^[1]

He authored or co-authored 36 papers.^{[citation needed]} As junior author to William K. Emerson, he named several species of marine mollusks, including:

• Cymatium perryi Emerson & Old, 1963 - a sea snail or marine gastropod

This article incorporates public domain text from the reference ^[1]

• Raeihle D. & Emerson W. K. (1983). "In memorium: William Erwood Old Jr., April 14, 1928 - December 31, 1982". American Malacological Bulletin 1: 75–78.
• Raeihle D. & Emerson W. K. (1983). "William Erwood Old Jr. 1928-1982". Of Sea & Shore 13(1): 41-42 [reprinted from New York Shell Club Notes, no. 286, Mar 1983]
• AMNH biography here including photo^{[dead link‍]}