author
William Tufts Brigham
1841–1926
A nineteenth-century scientist and museum leader, he helped shape the study of Hawaiʻi through work in geology, botany, and ethnology. He is especially remembered as the first director of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu.
2 Audiobooks
Guatemala : the land of the quetzal; a sketch
by William Tufts Brigham
Baltimore Hats, Past and Present
by William Tufts Brigham
About the author
Born in Boston in 1841, William Tufts Brigham was an American geologist, botanist, and ethnologist educated at Harvard. His interests ranged widely across the natural world, and his career reflected a rare mix of field science, collecting, and public education.
Brigham is best known for leading the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum in Honolulu as its first director. In that role, he helped build the museum's early collections and reputation, contributing to the study of Hawaiʻi's natural history and material culture.
He also wrote on Hawaiian subjects, including plants and traditional crafts, and became an important figure in the scholarly life of his time. He died in Honolulu in 1926, leaving behind a legacy tied closely to the early development of museum and scientific work in Hawaiʻi.