III
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 75
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 12, 2009
Mr. Specter (for himself and Mr. Casey) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to
RESOLUTION
Commemorating the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Philadelphia Zoo: America’s First Zoo.
Whereas Dr. William Camac, a legendary Philadelphia physician, led a concerned community of citizens, educators, and scientists to charter the Zoological Society of Philadelphia—America’s First Zoo—on March 21, 1859, housed on a bucolic, 44-acre property in Fairmount Park along the West Bank of the Schuylkill River;
Whereas the Philadelphia Zoo has emerged over the past century as a national and global treasure and as one of Philadelphia’s most cherished, enduring, and significant educational, scientific, and conservation institutions and cultural attractions;
Whereas the Philadelphia Zoo was the site for breakthrough research that led to the award of the 1976 Nobel Prize for Medicine;
Whereas since its inception, the Philadelphia Zoo, through its myriad research and curatorial activities, has consistently and successfully protected, promoted, and preserved numerous rare and endangered wildlife species around the world;
Whereas since its landmark gates opened to the general public, the Philadelphia Zoo has welcomed more than 100,000,000 visitors, including millions of school children from the greater Philadelphia community over generations; and
Whereas the Philadelphia Zoo's sesquicentennial on March 21, 2009 is an achievement of historic proportions for Philadelphia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the United States, and the world conservation community: Now, therefore, be it
That the Senate recognizes the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Philadelphia Zoo on March 21, 2009.