R. Tucker Abbott was arguably the most prominent conchologist of the 20th century, authoring dozens of books and working as museum director of the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum. His most best-known works are "American Seashells", "Seashells of the World", and "The Kingdom of the Seashell". John DuPont is also known for his extensive collection which he donated to the Delaware Museum of Natural History in 1984. The Japanese emperor Hirohito also amassed a huge collection, and was a competent and respected amateur conchologist.