William Tufts Brigham
Encyclopedia
William Tufts Brigham was an American geologist, botanist, ethnologist and the first director of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum in Honolulu.
he attended the Harvard University
and graduated with the degree Master of Arts
in 1862. In 1864 he studied Botany and from 1864 and 1865 he accompanied botanist Horace Mann Jr.
on Botanical surveys to the Hawaiian Islands where they discovered many new plant taxa. By 1892 he became the first curator of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum and from 1898 until his retirement in 1918 he was the first director of that museum. He died on January 30, 1926.
Brigham was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
, of the California Academy of Sciences
, of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.
The Hawaiian lobelioid genus Brighamia
was named in his honour.
Biography
William Tufts Brigham was born on May 24, 1841. After finishing the Boston Latin SchoolBoston Latin School
The Boston Latin School is a public exam school founded on April 23, 1635, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is both the first public school and oldest existing school in the United States....
he attended the Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and graduated with the degree Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in 1862. In 1864 he studied Botany and from 1864 and 1865 he accompanied botanist Horace Mann Jr.
Horace Mann Jr.
-Biography:Horace Mann Jr. was born in Boston on February 25, 1844. He was the son of education reformer Horace Mann. While attending the Lawrence Scientific School he took lessons in zoology with Louis Agassiz and in botany with Asa Gray...
on Botanical surveys to the Hawaiian Islands where they discovered many new plant taxa. By 1892 he became the first curator of the Bernice P. Bishop Museum and from 1898 until his retirement in 1918 he was the first director of that museum. He died on January 30, 1926.
Brigham was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, of the California Academy of Sciences
California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences is among the largest museums of natural history in the world. The academy began in 1853 as a learned society and still carries out a large amount of original research, with exhibits and education becoming significant endeavors of the museum during the twentieth...
, of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences.
The Hawaiian lobelioid genus Brighamia
Hawaiian lobelioids
The Hawaiian lobelioids are a group of flowering plants in the bellflower family, Campanulaceae, all of which are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. This is the largest plant radiation in the Hawaiian Islands, and indeed the largest on any island archipelago, with over 125 species...
was named in his honour.
Works (selected)
- Bibliography of the Hawaiian Islands (with Sanford B. DoleSanford B. DoleSanford Ballard Dole was a lawyer and jurist in the Hawaiian Islands as a kingdom, protectorate, republic and territory...
), 1869 - Cast catalogue of antique sculpture; With an introduction to the study of ornament, 1874
- Northern California, Oregon, and the Sandwich Islands, (with Charles Nordhoff) (Online), 1875
- Guatemala: The Land of the Quetzal, 1887
- Hawaiian feather work, 1899
- An index to the islands of the Pacific Ocean : a handbook to the chart on the walls of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum of Polynesian Ethnology and Natural History, 1900
- A handbook for visitors to the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum of Polynesian Ethnology and Natural History (Online), 1903
- Additional notes on Hawaiian feather work, 1903
- Old Hawaiian Carvings: Memoirs the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, 1906
- The ancient Hawaiian house, 1908
- The volcanoes of Kilauea and Mauna Loa on the island of Hawaii : their variously recorded history to the present time, 1909