Thomas Haughey Brown Jr. (January 29, 1950 – August 16, 2024) was an American

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

, tracker,

survivalist Survivalism is a social movement of individuals or groups (called survivalists, doomsday preppers or preppers) who proactively prepare for emergencies, such as natural disasters, and other disasters causing disruption to social order (that is, ...

, and author from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, where he ran the Tom Brown Jr. Tracker School.

Early life

Brown was born in

Toms River, New Jersey Toms River is a Township (New Jersey), township and coastal town located on the Jersey Shore in Ocean County, New Jersey, Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its mainland United States, mainland portion is also a census-designated ...

on January 29, 1950. From the age of seven, as Brown wrote in his books, he and his childhood friend Rick were trained in tracking and wilderness survival by Rick's grandfather, "Stalking Wolf" (who Brown stated was

Lipan Apache Lipan Apache are a band of Apache, a Southern Athabaskan languages, Southern Athabaskan Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous people, who have lived in the Oasisamerica, Southwest and Southern Plains for centuries. At the time of European ...

). Brown wrote that Stalking Wolf died when Brown was 17, and that Rick was killed in an accident in Europe shortly thereafter.

Career

Brown spent the next ten years working odd jobs to support his wilderness adventures. He then set out to find other people in

who were interested in his experiences. Initially Brown met with little success, but was eventually called on to help locate a crime suspect. Though the case won him national attention, he and authorities in the

Ramsey, New Jersey Ramsey is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of New York City, located northwest of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's ...

area were subsequently sued for 5 million dollars for charging the wrong person. Despite this controversy, he was able to build on this exposure to develop a profession as a full-time tracker, advertising his services for locating lost persons, dangerous animals, and fugitives from the law. According to ''People'' magazine, "He stalks men and animals, mostly in New Jersey." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said that he "was considered the country's foremost authority on wilderness survival".

The Tracker School

Tom Brown Jr.'s Tracker School is located in the

New Jersey Pine Barrens The New Jersey Pine Barrens, also known as the Pinelands or simply the Pines, is the largest remaining example of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecosystem, stretching across more than seven counties of New Jersey. Two other large, contiguou ...

. Most classes offered by Tracker School are held in Primitive Camp or Joseph Citta Boy Scout Camp, both of which are located near

Waretown, New Jersey Waretown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located on the Jersey Shore within Ocean Township, in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Workshops involve Brown's

versions Version may refer to: Computing * Software version, a set of numbers that identify a unique evolution of a computer program * VERSION (CONFIG.SYS directive), a configuration directive in FreeDOS Music * Cover version * Dub version * Remix * Versi ...

Plains Indian Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nations peoples who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of North ...

ceremonies, including the

sweat lodge A sweat lodge is a low profile hut, typically dome-shaped or oblong, and made with natural materials. The structure is the ''lodge'', and the ceremony performed within the structure may be called by some cultures a purification ceremony or simply ...

and

vision quest A vision quest is a rite of passage in some Native American cultures. Individual Indigenous cultures have their own names for their rites of passage. "Vision quest" is an English-language umbrella term, and may not always be accurate or used by ...

Personal life and death

In July 1977, Tom Brown Jr. married Judy Duck Ford, 33. At the time Judy had a daughter Kerry, 15, and a son Paul, 11, from a previous marriage. The two had one child, Tom Brown III, together. Brown later married Debbie Brown and had two children with her, Coty Tracker Brown and River Scout Brown.Tom Brown Jr.,
Science and the Art of Tracking
" ('' Berkley'', 1999) Later, Brown married his third wife, Celeste Brown. Brown died in Neptune, New Jersey, on August 16, 2024, at the age of 74.

Publications and media

Brown has written 18 books. His first book ''The Tracker'', in 1978, chronicled his coming of age. ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'' printed a condensed version of the story and provided information about Brown's new Tracker School. Tom Brown's books are published by

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

: * ''The Tracker'' (1978, 1986), * ''The Search'' (1980, 2001), * ''Field Guide to Living With the Earth'' (1984), * ''Guide to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants'' (1986), * ''Guide to City and Suburban Survival'' (1986), * ''Field Guide to Living with the Earth'' (1986), * ''Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking'' (1986), * ''Field Guide to the Forgotten Wilderness'' (1987), * ''Field Guide to Wilderness Survival'' (1987), * ''The Vision'' (1988), * ''Field Guide to Nature and Survival for Children'' (1989), * ''The Quest'' (1991), * ''The Journey'' (1992), * ''Grandfather'' (1993, 2001), , audio book (2007) * ''Awakening Spirits'' (1994), * ''The Way of the Scout'' (1995), * ''The Science and Art of Tracking'' (1999), * ''Case Files of the Tracker'' (2003), * ''Guide to Healing the Earth'' (2019), The ''

Mother Earth News ''Mother Earth News'' is a bi-monthly American magazine that has a circulation of 500,520 . It is published in Topeka, Kansas. Since its founding, ''Mother Earth News'' has promoted renewable energy, recycling, family farms, good agricultura ...

'' website provides these articles by Tom Brown Jr.: * Issue 71, Sep–Oct 1981: &nbs
Wilderness Shelter
* Issue 72, Nov–Dec 1981: &nbs
Finding Water
* Issue 73, Jan–Feb 1982: &nbs
Fire Starting
* Issue 74, Mar–Apr 1982: &nbs
Hunting & Traps
* Issue 75, May–Jun 1982: &nbs
Edible Plants
* Issue 76, Jul–Aug 1982: &nbs
Survival Cooking
* Issue 77, Sep–Oct 1982: &nbs
Animal Tracking
* Issue 79, Jan–Feb 1983: &nbs
Natural Cordage
* Issue 87, May–Jun 1984: &nbs
Bow Making
* Issue 93, May–Jun 1985: &nbs
Survival Skills
* Issue 95, Sep–Oct 1985: &nbs
Advanced Shelters
* CBS News reports:
24 June 2005
nbsp;
6 December 2006

References

External links

A 6-Day Experience at Tom Brown Jr.'s Tracker School

The Tracker Trail

The Tracker School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Tom Jr. 1950 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American naturalists People from Toms River, New Jersey Pine Barrens (New Jersey) Survivalists Writers from Ocean County, New Jersey 20th-century American writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American writers