Francis Bain (February 25, 1842 – November 20, 1894) was an

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

and

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

from North River,

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. In 1865, in his time away from managing his family farm, he began a career as an amateur naturalist, collecting and cataloging the flora, fauna, and seashells of the island. He was especially interested in

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

, and became an expert on the bedrock and fossils of PEI. In an 1882 study, he proposed that it would be possible to dig a tunnel under the Northumberland Strait, which would have enabled the federal government to honour its commitment made when PEI entered

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

, that constant communication with the mainland be provided. He would later be hired by the federal government to do a more in-depth investigation of the idea, although it was never carried out. Following Sir William Dawson's geological report of 1871, Bain continued the quest to explore the Island's rocks for fossils. Bain added to the record of fossil plants in particular. One of his discoveries was named by Sir William in his honour: ''Tylodendron baini''. Bain wrote enthusiastically on

natural history 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 ...

in a column in the ''Daily Examiner'', as well as publishing many papers in scholarly journals. He authored two books ''The natural history of Prince Edward Island'' (1890) and ''Birds of Prince Edward Island'' (1891). A monument in his honour is located in Queens Square in

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...

, incorporating a

glacial erratic A glacial erratic is a glacially deposited rock (geology), rock differing from the type of country rock (geology), rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by gla ...

hauled to the site.

External links

*
Biography at ''the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
*
''Birds of Prince Edward Island : their habits and characteristics'' (1891) at ''Internet Archive''
*
''The natural history of Prince Edward Island'' at ''Internet Archive''
1842 births 1894 deaths Canadian naturalists People from Queens County, Prince Edward Island 19th-century Canadian scientists Scientists from Prince Edward Island {{Canada-nonfiction-writer-stub