John Cassin (September 6, 1813 – January 10, 1869) was an American

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

from Pennsylvania. He worked as

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

and Vice President at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and focused on the systemic classification of the Academy's extensive collection of birds. He was one of the founders of the

Delaware County Institute of Science The Delaware County Institute of Science is a science and natural history museum, library and education center in Media, Pennsylvania. It was organized in 1833 and contains exhibits of mounted animals and birds; fossils, shells and corals from aro ...

and published several books describing 194 new species of birds. Five species of North American birds, a cicada and a mineral are named in his honor.

Early life and education

Cassin was born in Upper Providence Township, Pennsylvania on September 6, 1813. He was educated at the Westtown School in Westtown, Pennsylvania. His great Uncle, John Cassin, was a commodore in the U.S. Navy and served in the War of 1812. He served in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

and was held prisoner in the infamous Confederate

Libby Prison Libby Prison was a Confederate prison at Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. In 1862 it was designated to hold officer prisoners from the Union Army. It gained an infamous reputation for the overcrowded and harsh conditions. Priso ...

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

Career

Cassin moved to Philadelphia in 1834 and became the head of a lithographing business in which many of his illustrations of birds were later printed. He served for a brief time in the

Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council, the legislative body of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consists of ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large. The council president is elected by the members from among their number. Each ...

. He was a member of the Zoological Society, the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

and the Pennsylvania Historical Society. In 1833, Cassin, along with 4 colleagues, founded the Delaware County Institute of Science in

Media, Pennsylvania Media is a borough in and the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is located about west of Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation with 1.6 million residents as 2020. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropol ...

. In 1842, he was elected curator of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. From 1846 to 1850, Thomas Bellerby Wilson, a wealthy patron of the Academy, became interested in the department of ornithology and procured a collection of over 25,000 birds. The Academy had the largest ornithological collection in the United States at the time and included an extensive collection of non-North American species. This exceptional collection of birds allowed Cassin to become the leading ornithological

taxonomist In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining ( circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa (singular: taxon) and these groups are give ...

in the world. Cassin worked almost exclusively at the Academy, focused on research and the systematic classification of species rather than field work. He described 194 new species of birds and revised a number of families in the Academy's publications. His publications include ''Birds of California'', with descriptions and colored engravings of fifty species; ''Synopsis of the Birds of North America''; ''Ornithology of the United States Exploring Expedition''; ''Ornithology of the Japan Expedition''; ''Ornithology of Gillis's Astronomical Expedition to Chile''; and chapters on raptorial birds and waders in ''Ornithology of the Pacific Railroad Explorations and Surveys''. He also co-authored ''Birds of North America'' (1860) with

Spencer Fullerton Baird Spencer Fullerton Baird (; February 3, 1823 – August 19, 1887) was an American naturalist, ornithologist, ichthyologist, herpetologist, and museum curator. Baird was the first curator to be named at the Smithsonian Institution. He eventually ...

and

George Newbold Lawrence George Newbold Lawrence (October 20, 1806 – January 17, 1895) was an American businessman and amateur ornithologist. Early life Lawrence was born in the city of New York on October 20, 1806. From his youth, Lawrence was a lover of birds and sp ...

Specimens collected from the Pacific Railroad Surveys and the Mexican Boundary Surveys were sent to the Academy and further supplemented the collection. Cassin helped revise the publications that arose from these surveys.

Martha Maxwell Martha Ann Maxwell (née Dartt 21 July 1831 – 31 May 1881) was an American naturalist, artist and taxidermist. She helped found modern taxidermy. Maxwell's pioneering diorama displays are said to have influenced major figures in taxidermy h ...

was a student of Cassin at the Academy of Natural Sciences from 1862 to 1869. Cassin was elected Vice President of the Academy of Natural Sciences in 1864. He died in 1869 of

arsenic poisoning Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, ...

caused by his handling of bird skins preserved with arsenic. His collection of 4,300 birds was purchased for $500 by John Whipple Potter Jenks for

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

's museum of natural history. He is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

Legacy

Five birds from North America are named in his honor: the Cassin's auklet, Cassin's kingbird, Cassin's vireo, Cassin's sparrow, and Cassin's finch. The periodic cicada '' Magicicada cassini '' and the mineral Orthoclase Variety Cassinite are also named for him. In 1901, the journal of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club was renamed

Cassinia ''Cassinia'' is a genus of about fifty-two species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae that are native to Australia and New Zealand. Plants in the genus ''Cassinia'' are shrubs, sometimes small trees with leaves arranged alternately, a ...

in his honor.

Bibliography

Catalogue of the caprimulgidae in the Collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 1851 *
Illustrations of the Birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British, and Russian America
'. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1856 *
United States Exploring Expedition. During the Years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842. Under the Command of Charles Wilkins, U.S.N.
', Philadelphia, C. Sherman & Son, 1858

Citations

References

* * *

External links

Works of John Cassin at the Biodiversity Heritage Library
* Cassin's Sparrow blog a
CassinsSparrow.org
– Long-running science blog that explores the history of Cassin's Sparrow's discovery, what we've learned about the species since, and why it matters. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cassin, John 1813 births 1869 deaths 19th-century American zoologists American bird artists American ornithologists Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Deaths by poisoning Members of the American Philosophical Society People from Delaware County, Pennsylvania People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War Philadelphia City Council members Scientists from Philadelphia Westtown School alumni 19th-century American politicians