William Harvey Brown (August 22, 1862April 5, 1913) was an American naturalist who later settled in Rhodesia. Whilst studying at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

Brown volunteered with the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

and took part in collecting expeditions in the US. While employed by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

he took part in an expedition to the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

to observe the Solar eclipse of December 22, 1889. Brown collected a wide variety of specimens for the national museum and, as a result, became known as "Curio Brown". Brown remained in South Africa after the expedition and joined the

British South Africa Company The British South Africa Company (BSAC or BSACo) was chartered in 1889 following the amalgamation of Cecil Rhodes' Central Search Association and the London-based Exploring Company Ltd, which had originally competed to capitalize on the expecte ...

's 1890 Pioneer Column expedition that annexed Mashonaland. He afterwards fought in the

First Matabele War The First Matabele War was fought between 1893 and 1894 in modern-day Zimbabwe. It pitted the British South Africa Company against the Ndebele (Matabele) Kingdom. Lobengula, king of the Ndebele, had tried to avoid outright war with the company ...

and was awarded significant tracts of land in Rhodesia. Brown was wounded during the 1896-97 rebellion in Mashonaland and returned briefly to the US where he published a book about his experiences. Brown returned to Rhodesia and was elected to the Salisbury city council, including a period as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

, and to the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council.

Early life

William Harvey Brown was born on August 22, 1862, in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

. After attending public schools in his home town he studied at the

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

. At university he was a member of the

Phi Gamma Delta Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Fiji, is a social fraternity with more than 144 active chapters and 10 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848. Along with Phi Kappa Psi, Phi ...

fraternity and was elected president of his freshman class. Brown majored in natural history, receiving a bachelor of science degree, and studied under Professors

Francis H. Snow Francis Huntington Snow (June 29, 1840 – September 21, 1908) was an American professor and chancellor of the University of Kansas (KU), and he became prominent through the discovery of a fungus fatal to chinch bugs and its propagation and distr ...

and

Lewis Lindsay Dyche Lewis Lindsay Dyche (March 20, 1857 – January 20, 1915) was a notable naturalist and also the creator of the Panorama of North American Plants and Animals, which was featured in the Kansas Pavilion at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. ...

. In 1886 Brown was invited by William Temple Hornaday, chief taxidermist at the

, to join the museum as a volunteer assistant for the summer. He joined Hornaday's expedition to Montana which gathered skins and skeletons of the

bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

. Brown later collected, with Dyche, specimens from Las Vegas, New Mexico, including two bison that came to be the centerpiece of the museum of the University of Kansas. After graduation Brown joined the natural history department of the

1889 eclipse expedition

Brown was attached to the US government's expedition to the

to observe the solar eclipse of December 22, 1889. An arrangement with expedition leader Professor David Peck Todd allowed Brown to accompany the party to collect natural history samples for the National Museum. The expedition sailed on October 16, 1889, aboard the USS ''Pensacola'', stopping at the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

en-route where Brown, assisted by officers and men from the ship, collected samples of fish and

seashells A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer usually created by an animal or organism that lives in the sea. The shell is part of the body of the animal. Empty seashells are often found washe ...

. Brown accompanied the expedition to the Congo via

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...

, Sierra Leone;

Elmina Elmina, also known as Edina by the local Fante people, Fante, is a town and the capital of the Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem Municipal District, Komenda/Edina/Eguafo/Abirem District on the south coast of Ghana in the Central Region, Ghana, Centra ...

, Ghana; Angola (including

Luanda Luanda () is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport ...

and the

Cuanza River The Kwanza River, also known as the Coanza, the Quanza, and the Cuanza, is one of the longest rivers in Angola. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean just south of the national capital Luanda. Geography The river is navigable for about from its ...

), Cape Town (South Africa), St Helena and Ascension Island. Brown's collections from the expedition were returned to the National Museum in June 1890. They included 33 mammals from 16 species, well over 100 molluscs and 250 species of insect, almost all of which were not previously represented in the museum collection. He also sent specimens of 16 species of freshwater fish from the Quanza River and a large quantity of saltwater fish, including some recovered from an abandoned canoe discovered at sea off the coast of Sierra Leone. A quantity of birds was also included, but the collection of reptiles was somewhat damaged in transit and did not represent any new species. Brown also dispatched a number of geological specimens and ethnological items such as idols, pottery and baskets. As a result of this expedition Brown gained the nickname "Curio Brown" for his collecting prowess. Pioneer-corps-officers

After the expedition Brown spent some time in South Africa collecting specimens where, on April 10, 1890, he joined the

's Pioneer Corps for their Pioneer Column expedition. He accompanied the column of 200 white men and 400 African men to

Mashonaland Mashonaland is a region in northern Zimbabwe. Currently, Mashonaland is divided into four provinces, * Mashonaland West * Mashonaland Central * Mashonaland East * Harare The Zimbabwean capital of Harare, a province unto itself, lies entirely ...

, which was annexed to the company's territory. Brown continued his work as a naturalist and the company arranged to carry his collections to Kimberley free of charge, from which the South African government railway carried them (also free of charge) to Cape Town. The collections included some live tortoises and chameleons together with rock samples from the Kimberley Diamond Mines for the National Museum and other specimens that went to the Cape Town Museum.

Later life

Brown fought in the

of 1893-94 and in return for his service was granted of land in what became Rhodesia. Brown was severely wounded while fighting against Shona rebels during the

Second Matabele War The Second Matabele War, also known as the Matabeleland Rebellion or part of what is now known in Zimbabwe as the First ''Chimurenga'', was fought between 1896 and 1897 in the region later known as Southern Rhodesia, now modern-day Zimbabwe. ...

. He afterwards returned to the US where, in 1899, he published an account of his experiences as ''On the South African Frontier''. Brown returned to Rhodesia afterwards and settled on his farm, some outside of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

. Having obtained British citizenship Brown served on the city council of Salisbury and was mayor between 1909 and 1910. He was also a member of the Chamber of Mines, Chamber of Commerce, the Mashonaland Farmers' Association, Rhodesia Agricultural Union, Rhodesia Agricultural Society and the Rhodesia Horticultural Society. Brown served on the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council between 1909 and 1911. He died on April 5, 1913, in Salisbury. Brown has been described as having "helped to found"

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, William Harvey 1862 births 1913 deaths University of Kansas alumni Smithsonian Institution people Politicians from Des Moines, Iowa American naturalists White Rhodesian people Rhodesian politicians Mayors of Harare