Thomas Brown (naturalist)
Encyclopedia
Captain Thomas Brown was a British
naturalist
and malacologist.
Born in Perth, Scotland
, he was educated at the Edinburgh High School. At the age of twenty, he joined the Forfar and Kincardine Militia, raising to the rank of captain in 1811. When he was quartered in Manchester
, he became interested in nature, and edited Oliver Goldsmith
's Animated Nature. After his regiment was disbanded he bought the Fifeshire flax mill. But this burned down before Thomas Brown had the opportunity to insure it and he then started to write books about nature for a living.
In 1840 he became curator of the Manchester Museum
for twenty-two years.
He wrote several natural history
books, a few dealing with conchology
. He became a fellow of the Linnean Society, a member of the Wernerian, Kirwanian and Phrenological Societies, and president of the Physical Society. Material from his books was used by US naturalist Thomas Wyatt
for his book Manual of Conchology. Wyatt in turn hired Edgar Allan Poe
to edit, compile, and "arrange" a revised, condensed, simplified, and less expensive version: The Conchologist's First Book
(1839).
A species of sea snail, a marine
gastropod, was named after him: Zebina browniana
d'Orbigny
, 1842.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
and malacologist.
Born in Perth, Scotland
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
, he was educated at the Edinburgh High School. At the age of twenty, he joined the Forfar and Kincardine Militia, raising to the rank of captain in 1811. When he was quartered in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, he became interested in nature, and edited Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
's Animated Nature. After his regiment was disbanded he bought the Fifeshire flax mill. But this burned down before Thomas Brown had the opportunity to insure it and he then started to write books about nature for a living.
In 1840 he became curator of the Manchester Museum
Manchester Museum
The Manchester Museum is owned by the University of Manchester. Sited on Oxford Road at the heart of the university's group of neo-Gothic buildings, it provides access to about six million items from every continent and serves both as a resource for academic research and teaching and as a regional...
for twenty-two years.
He wrote several natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
books, a few dealing with conchology
Conchology
Conchology is the scientific or amateur study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs, however malacology studies molluscs as whole organisms, not just their shells. Conchology pre-dated malacology as a field of study. It includes the study of land and...
. He became a fellow of the Linnean Society, a member of the Wernerian, Kirwanian and Phrenological Societies, and president of the Physical Society. Material from his books was used by US naturalist Thomas Wyatt
Thomas Wyatt
Thomas Wyatt may refer to:* Thomas Wyatt , English poet* Thomas Wyatt the younger , rebel leader* Thomas Henry Wyatt , British architect...
for his book Manual of Conchology. Wyatt in turn hired Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
to edit, compile, and "arrange" a revised, condensed, simplified, and less expensive version: The Conchologist's First Book
The Conchologist's First Book
The Conchologist's First Book is an illustrated textbook on conchology issued in 1839, 1840, and 1845. The book was originally printed under Edgar Allan Poe's name. Poe never claimed, however, that he was the author. Poe's condensed version was based on the textbook by Thomas Wyatt, an English...
(1839).
A species of sea snail, a marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
gastropod, was named after him: Zebina browniana
Zebina browniana
Zebina browniana is a species of minute sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk or micromollusk in the family Rissoidae....
d'Orbigny
Alcide d'Orbigny
Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny was a French naturalist who made major contributions in many areas, including zoology , palaeontology, geology, archaeology and anthropology....
, 1842.
Selected works
- Brown T. 1827. Illustrations of conchology of Great Britain and Ireland drawn from nature. pp. 1–65, Pl. 1-52. Edinburgh. (Lizars).
- Illustrations of the American ornithology of Alexander WilsonAlexander WilsonAlexander Wilson was a Scottish-American poet, ornithologist, naturalist, and illustrator.Wilson was born in Paisley, Scotland, the son of an illiterate distiller. In 1779 he was apprenticed as a weaver. His main interest at this time was in writing poetry...
and Charles Lucien BonaparteCharles Lucien BonaparteCharles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano was a French naturalist and ornithologist.-Biography:...
(1831-1835). These illustrations were also used in the three-volume "Jameson edition" of Wilson's American ornithology (published between 1801 and 1814)
- Brown T. 1832. The book of butterflies, sphinxes, and moths: illustrated by ninety-six engravings, coloured after nature.
- The taxidermist's manual, or, The art of collecting, preparing and preserving objects of natural history (Glasgow: Archibald Fullarton ... [and 3 others], 1833) xii, 150 p., VI leaves of plates
- Brown T. 1835. The conchologist’s text-book, embracing the arrangements of Jean-Baptiste LamarckJean-Baptiste LamarckJean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de la Marck , often known simply as Lamarck, was a French naturalist...
and LinnaeusCarolus LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
, with a glossary of technical terms. - illustrated by nineteen engravings on steel. 1835 version, 1853 version.
- Brown T. 1849. Illustrations Of The Fossil Conchology Of Great Britain And Ireland, With Descriptions And Localities.