Henry Bryant (May 12, 1820 – February 2, 1867) was an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and naturalist.

Early life

Bryant was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, and graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

in 1840, and then followed this from a degree at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is cons ...

in 1843. Following this, he went to Paris to study medicine, but his health broke down while researching at a Paris hospital. In order to restore his health, he joined the French army in Algeria as a surgeon. In October 1847, Bryant returned to Boston to work with Dr.

Henry Jacob Bigelow Henry Jacob Bigelow (March 11, 1818October 30, 1890) was an American surgeon and Professor of Surgery at Harvard University. A dominating figure in Boston medicine for many decades, he is remembered for the Bigelow maneuver for hip dislocation ...

as a surgeon, but after a few months his health broke down again. After being forced to abandon medicine because of ill health, Bryant turned to natural history, especially

ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and t ...

, which was a childhood passion. Bryant visited nearby Cohasset, Massachusetts for one of his first collecting trips, but he seriously injured his stomach from a fall while landing his boat. After his recovery, he decided to push himself further in an attempt to strengthen his body. His collecting trips became more frequent and more far flung.

Civil War service

Bryant took a break from natural history to volunteer as a surgeon during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. He accepted an appointment as a surgeon for the 20th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, which was also known as "The Harvard Regiment." By September 1861, Bryant was promoted to brigade surgeon. Soon after, he served on the staff of General Frederick W. Lander until March 2, 1862, when the general died of pneumonia. After Lander's death, Bryant was appointed Medical Director for General James Shield, a future senator. While serving as this post, Bryant fell off his horse so hard that his knee was nearly amputated. Despite the pain, he continued his duties. In the middle of 1862, he was placed in charge of organizing several hospitals, including Cliffburn Hospital and Lincoln Hospital. However, his mental and physical health collapsed again, and he resigned his commission in May 1863.

Life after the Civil War

After the Civil War ended, Bryant made several trips to France, including to purchase the Frédéric de Lafresnaye collection of birds in 1865, which he presented to 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 ...

. This collection contained nearly 9,000 mostly non-American specimen. The unpacking and remounting of the specimen was conducted by younger naturalists, including Charles Johnson Maynard, and took about a year to complete. In addition to his visits to France, Bryant collected birds in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

, the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the a ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

and

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. He was one of the first American ornithologists in the Caribbean. He died in Puerto Rico on February 2, 1867 during a brief illness on a collecting trip.

References

* Barbara and Richard Mearns - ''The Bird Collectors''. Academic Press, 1998. * Barrow, Mark V
A Passion for Birds
Princeton University Press, 1998. * "Obituary Notice of Dr. Henry Bryant" Annual Report of the Boston Society of Natural History, May 1867. *''S.L. Abbot''
Account of the life and scientific career of the late Dr. Henry Bryant
Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History 11 (1866-1868): 205–215. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, Henry 1820 births 1867 deaths American ornithologists People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War Union Army surgeons Harvard Medical School alumni 19th-century American zoologists Physicians from Massachusetts Scientists from Massachusetts