Thomas Mayo Brewer (November 21, 1814 – January 24, 1880) 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 ...

, specializing in

ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

and

oology Oology (; also oölogy) is a branch of ornithology studying bird eggs, Bird nest, nests and breeding behaviour. The word is derived from the Greek ''oion'', meaning egg. Oology can also refer to the hobby of collecting wild birds' eggs, sometime ...

Biography

Thomas Mayo Brewer was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, the younger brother of noted Boston merchant Gardner Brewer. He graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1835 and from

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

three years later. His interest in ornithology was such that he was elected a member of the

Boston Society of Natural History The Boston Society of Natural History (1830–1948) in Boston, Massachusetts, was an organization dedicated to the study and promotion of natural history. It published a scholarly journal and established a museum. In its first few decades, the s ...

in 1835. He abandoned his career as a doctor after a few years to concentrate on ornithology, writing and politics, later becoming editor of the '' Boston Atlas'' in 1840. He was a friend of

John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin, April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-American Autodidacticism, self-trained artist, natural history, naturalist, and ornithology, ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornitho ...

in that ornithologist's later life. In 1849, Brewer was placed in charge of the oological department for the Boston Society of Natural History. Brewer continued working as a publisher while working as an ornithologist. He joined the publishing firm of Hickling, Swan & Brown, which became Hickling, Swan & Brewer when he became a partner in 1857; this firm subsequently became Swan, Brewer & Tileston. As an editor, he published Alexander Wilson's "Birds of America". In 1857, Brewer completed his first of several volumes of ''North American Oology''. However, Brewer is best known as a joint author, with

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

and

Robert Ridgway Robert Ridgway (July 2, 1850 – March 25, 1929) was an American ornithologist specializing in systematics. He was appointed in 1880 by Spencer Fullerton Baird, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to be the first full-time curator of birds ...

, of ''A History of North American Birds'' (3 volumes, 1874), which was the first attempt since

's (thirty years prior) to complete the study of American

. Brewer also contributed to a number of ornithological publications, including

's ''Ornithological Biography.'' Brewer was a companion to Audubon, who gave Brewer's name to a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

, a blackbird, and a mole found in

Martha's vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, lying just south of Cape Cod. It is known for being a popular, affluent summer colony, and includes the smaller peninsula Chappaquiddick Isla ...

. In his last decade of life, Brewer sparred with

Elliott Coues Elliott Ladd Coues (; September 9, 1842 – December 25, 1899) was an American army surgeon, historian, ornithologist, and author. He led surveys of the Arizona Territory, and later as secretary of the United States Geological and Geographi ...

over the fate of the

House Sparrow The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the Old World sparrow, sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pa ...

, a recently introduced bird that was multiplying far faster than expected. While Coues and most ornithologists were in favor of killing many of them off, Brewer tried to defend them. This ornithological event is known as "The Sparrow War." Brewer died in Boston on January 24, 1880, while the fate of the sparrow was still being debated.

Personal life

Brewer married Sally Coffin in 1849. They had two children. The Brewer family has been prominent in Massachusetts for 200 years, including James Brewer (1742–1806), an early American patriot leader and businessman, Gen. Wilmon Blackmar, a Civil War medal of honor winner, and

Wilmon Brewer Wilmon Brewer (1895–1998) was an American literary scholar, poet, writer and philanthropist. Early life Brewer was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, and lived there for most of his life on his family's estate, Great Hill. When he was a young man ...

, a poet, biographer, and philanthropist.Milne, John, "Once-notable family has its history sold to the highest bidder," ''Boston Globe,'' Metro section, p. 16, May 29, 1995, Boston, MA.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brewer, Thomas Mayo 1814 births 1880 deaths American ornithologists Harvard Medical School alumni Harvard College alumni Writers from Boston 19th-century American people