Person in history

Herbert R. Axelrod

Herbert R. Axelrod American tropical fish expert, publisher of pet books, and entrepreneur (born 1927)

Life at a glance

Died
2017 · May 15

Their story

Who they were

Herbert Richard Axelrod was an American tropical fish expert, a publisher of pet books, and an entrepreneur. In 2005 he was sentenced in U.S. court to 18 months in prison for tax fraud.

Early life

Early life Axelrod was born to a Jewish family [ 1 ] in New Jersey, the son of immigrant parents from Russia. His father was a mathematics and violin teacher, and his mother was a civilian employee of the U.S. Navy . [ 2 ] ^ "Local wealthy Jews pledge to give away half their fortunes" . J . J. The Jewish News of Northern California . August 13, 2010. ^ Cite error: The named reference PracFish was invoked but never defined (see the help page ).

Path and career

Legacy The cardinal tetra, Paracheirodon axelrodi , was named for Axelrod. For his philanthropy, the Smithsonian Institution named Axelrod their 1999 Donor of the Year. [ 1 ] Axelrodia , a genus of characin from South America, is named for him. [ 2 ] A number of fish species are also named for him, including The cardinal tetra Paracheirodon axelrodi ( L. P. Schultz , 1956) , The Trinidad tetra Hyphessobrycon axelrodi ( Travassos , 1959) , The black neon tetra Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi Géry ,

Why this date

Herbert R. Axelrod appears on our May 15 calendar for 2017 as a death entry.

Sources

Cite this page

“Herbert R. Axelrod”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/people/herbert-r-axelrod, accessed October 27, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about Herbert R. Axelrod

When did Herbert R. Axelrod die?

May 15 2017.

Who else was born on this day?

The date page lists everyone we hold for that calendar day.

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