Laybourne, Roxie (1910–2003)

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Laybourne, Roxie (1910–2003)

American ornithologist. Born 1910 in Fayetteville, North Carolina; died Aug 7, 2003, in Manassas, Virginia; Meredith College, BA; George Washington University, MA; m. Philip Simpson (div.); m. Edgar G. Laybourne (died 1966); children: Clarence and Robert.

While working as a scientist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History (1944–88), pioneered forensic ornithology and helped identify thousands of birds involved in collisions with commercial and military aircraft, enabeling engineers to develop aircraft capable of withstanding such accidents.