Paul Farber passed away on November 28, 2021. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year, but only a few of his close friends and colleagues knew he was ill. His work on the history of ornithology and natural history made unmatched contributions to the scholarly project to which this journal is dedicated. For more on Paul’s professional career, see the eloge by Anita Guerrini in this issue.

In 2006, Paul Farber became the third Editor of this journal. Everett Mendelsohn founded the Journal of the History of Biology in 1968 and was editor for 31 years, with Shirley Roe serving as Co-Editor for part of that time. Everett attracted essays from leading historians who helped build the growing field of history of biology. Sometimes he organized special sections or whole issues of the journal. And he always welcomed contributions from young scholars, encouraging them to join the profession. For many, JHB has been the journal of record for new historians of biology.

In 1998, Everett passed his editorial baton to Garland Allen and Jane Maienschein, who felt a responsibility to support young writers in the way that Everett had, often spending considerable time on several drafts to guide a paper through to publication. It was always fun to watch those scholars grow, and even more fun to watch them work together to develop special issues for the journal. After eight years, they felt that the journal would benefit from passing the editorship on. Paul Farber was the obvious candidate. But Paul was so busy, heading a department at Oregon State University, supporting a group of graduate students, and in so many other ways. Could he be persuaded?

As it turns out, he was ready for a new challenge and agreed with some conditions. Gar and Jane worked with the publisher Springer to expand from three to four issues a year, creating a smooth workflow to allow authors with papers in progress to transition effectively. In his always graceful and calm way, Paul put together special issues to explore new ideas and approaches. He attracted young scholars, yes, and more international writers. He grew the journal in important ways. We all worked to increase subscriptions and develop online use, and Paul expanded those efforts in new directions.

In 2011, Paul passed the Journal of the History of Biology on to Michael Dietrich as the next Editor. As Paul noted in his “Farewell Editorial,” JHB had been with him for his entire career. He was pleased to have had the chance to help it grow. He wrote that “Contributors and readers of the JHB have been, and continue to be, highly diverse, and that strength has helped define the journal which supplies overviews as well as building blocks for understanding the rich history of the life sciences and its place in its cultural setting.” He thanked the authors “who have made my six years as Editor so intellectually stimulating, as well as the many friends of the journal who have solicited manuscripts, contributed ideas, complained about shortcomings, and have supported the journal in so many other ways.”

One of the most remarkable things that Paul passed along, says Michael, was a set of articles well past their revision deadline. Paul was the last Editor of JHB to do everything with paper files, and he and Ginny Domka, his amazing assistant, kept written records on everything. The articles in revision, though, were especially important. These were articles that had received comments, but whose authors had not gotten around to completing their revisions. Paul wanted to make sure that these authors were encouraged, so he made a point of writing them gentle notes about how much he was looking forward to publishing their revised essays. This kind of caring and thoughtfulness were emblematic of Paul’s leadership at JHB, and many young scholars were beneficiaries.

Paul helped sustain and enliven JHB, as so much else in the rest of the profession and the lives of so many of us. Thank you, Paul, for everything.