Henry Bryant

Henry Perkins Bryant (May 12, 1820 – February 2, 1867) was an American medical doctor and naturalist. He collected specimens, particularly birds and mammals, from the Caribbean and North America. A number of subspecies were described from his collections and several were named after him including Bryant's Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis alaudinus, Bryant's Golden Warbler Dendroica petechia bryanti, Agelaius phoeniceus bryanti and Bryant's Grassquit Tiaris olivaceus bryanti.

Early life

Bryant was born in Boston, and went to Thayer's School and Welles' school in Cambridge before going to Harvard University in 1836. He received a degree in 1840, and then followed this with medical studies at Tremont Medical School and received his degree from Harvard Medical School in 1843. Following this, he went to Paris to study medicine, but his health broke down while researching at the Hospital Beaujon in Paris. 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 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, 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.

In addition to his visits to France, Bryant collected birds in Florida, the Bahamas, Ontario and Labrador, North Carolina, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. He was one of the first American ornithologists in the Caribbean.

Bryant died in Puerto Rico on February 2, 1867 during a brief illness on a collecting trip.