T. M. (Thomas Mayo) Brewer

Born on November 21, 1814, in Boston, Thomas Mayo Brewer was an American naturalist and physician who became best known for his work in ornithology. Although trained in medicine, he devoted much of his life to the study of birds and built a strong reputation among fellow naturalists in the United States.

Brewer is especially associated with large collaborative works on North American birds. He was a co-author, with Spencer Fullerton Baird and Robert Ridgway, of A History of North American Birds, an important 3-volume study published in 1874. He was also known for his close attention to birds' nesting habits and eggs, and for maintaining a wide network of scientific correspondents.

He died on January 24, 1880. Today, Brewer is still remembered as part of the generation of 19th-century naturalists who helped turn American ornithology into a more systematic field of study.