A renowned scientist, a deadly snakebite, and a diary that documented it all

Karl Patterson Schmidt was a leading herpetologist at Chicago’s Field Museum, where he helped build the reptile and amphibian collection from fewer than 8,000 specimens to 50,000. Born in Illinois in 1890, he joined the museum in 1922, later became chief curator of zoology, and named at least 12 genera and more than 200 subspecies. His career is remembered not only for those contributions but also for his death after a snakebite he carefully recorded in his diary. In September 1957, at age 67 and two years into retirement, he examined a mystery snake brought from the Lincoln Park Zoo.

Schmidt suspected the 30-inch African snake was a boomslang, though its appearance seemed unusual. While discussing its identity with colleagues, he handled it without precautions and was bitten on the thumb. He apparently underestimated the danger: boomslangs are colubrids, not vipers or elapids, and inject venom less efficiently, but their venom can still be deadly. His diary tracked nausea, chills, fever, bleeding from his mouth, nose and bowels, and blood in place of urine. Despite worsening symptoms, he did not seek treatment and even expected to return to work the next day. After breathing difficulties developed, he was taken to hospital and died on September 26 from respiratory paralysis. The episode illustrates both the value of his meticulous scientific record and how limited knowledge and treatment options could turn an expert’s encounter into a fatal mistake.