Herbert Brown (March 6, 1848 – May 12, 1913) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

ornithologist and journalist who lived and worked in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. He founded the Audubon Society of

along with Harriet Blake and his collections of natural history specimens are now a part of the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

Biography

Herbert Brown was born in

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the northwesternmost Administrative divisions of Virginia#Independent cities, independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Frederick County, Virginia, Frederi ...

, and moved to

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

to work in 1873. He worked in various industries, including timber, mining and trade, before becoming a reporter for the ''

Arizona Daily Star The ''Arizona Daily Star'' is an American daily newspaper based in Tucson, Arizona, and owned by Lee Enterprises. It serves Tucson and surrounding districts of Southern Arizona in the United States. History 1877–1925 L. C. Hughes was the ...

'' in the 1870s. He then became an administrator of the Territorial Land Office but a change in the administration led to his resignation in 1886 to join the ''

Tucson Citizen The ''Tucson Citizen'' was a daily newspaper in Tucson, Arizona. It was founded by Richard C. McCormick with John Wasson as publisher and editor on October 15, 1870, as the ''Arizona Citizen''. When it ceased printing on May 16, 2009, the dail ...

'', a newspaper that he later acquired. After meeting

Edward William Nelson Edward William Nelson (May 8, 1855 – May 19, 1934) was an American naturalist and ethnologist. A collector of specimens and field naturalist of repute, he became a member of several expeditions to survey the fauna and flora. He was part o ...

in 1883, he took an interest in natural history and began to collect specimens of the local fauna and flora. Among his collections were specimens of birds, including those used by William Brewster to describe a new subspecies of the bobwhite quail ''

Colinus virginianus ridgwayi The northern bobwhite (''Colinus virginianus''), also known as the Virginia quail or (in its home range) bobwhite quail, is a ground-dwelling bird native to Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Cuba, with introduced populations elsewhere in th ...

''. Brown also wrote in ''

Forest and Stream ''Forest and Stream'' was a magazine featuring hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities in the United States. The magazine was founded in August 1873 by Charles Hallock. When independent publication ceased, in 1930, it was the ninth oldes ...

'', and ''Ornithology and Oology''. Brown was the first curator of the Arizona Territorial Museum, founded in 1893, which later became the

Arizona State Museum The Arizona State Museum (ASM), founded in 1893, was originally a repository for the collection and protection of archaeological resources. Today, however, ASM stores artifacts, exhibits them and provides education and research opportunities. I ...

. He resigned in 1912 and was followed by the temporary caretaker John James Thornber (1872-1962), the husband of Harriet Blake. Brown died of a stomach cancer on May 12, 1913, and was buried at the Holy Hope cemetery in Tucson. Brown's collection of bird specimens is now at the University of Arizona. Herbert Brown is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of North American snake, ''

Phyllorhynchus browni ''Phyllorhynchus browni'', the saddled leafnose snake, is a species of snake of the family Colubridae. The snake is found in Arizona in the United States and Mexico. Etymology The specific name, ''browni'', is in honor of American ornithologi ...

''.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Brown, H.", p. 40).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Herbert American ornithologists People from Arizona Territory 1848 births 1913 deaths People from Winchester, Virginia