William Harvey Brown

William Harvey Brown (August 22, 1862 – April 5, 1913) was an American naturalist who later settled in Rhodesia. Whilst studying at the University of Kansas Brown volunteered with the National Museum of Natural History and took part in collecting expeditions in the US. While employed by the Smithsonian Institution he took part in an expedition to the Belgian Congo to observe the Solar eclipse of December 22, 1889. Brown collected a wide variety of specimens for the national museum and, as a result, became known as "Curio Brown". Brown remained in South Africa after the expedition and joined the British South Africa Company's 1890 Pioneer Column expedition that annexed Mashonaland. He afterwards fought in the First Matabele War and was awarded significant tracts of land in Rhodesia. Brown was wounded during the 1896-97 rebellion in Mashonaland and returned briefly to the US where he published a book about his experiences. Brown returned to Rhodesia and was elected to the Salisbury city council, including a period as mayor, and to the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council.

Early life William Harvey Brown was born on August 22, 1862, in Des Moines, Iowa. Brown majored in natural history, receiving a bachelor of science degree, and studied under Professors Francis H. Snow and Lewis Lindsay Dyche. He joined Hornaday's expedition to Montana which gathered skins and skeletons of the bison. The expedition sailed on October 16, 1889, aboard the USS Pensacola, stopping at the Azores en-route where Brown, assisted by officers and men from the ship, collected samples of fish and seashells.

Brown's collections from the expedition were returned to the National Museum in June 1890. They included 33 mammals from 16 species, well over 100 molluscs and 250 species of insect, almost all of which were not previously represented in the museum collection. He also sent specimens of 16 species of freshwater fish from the Quanza River and a large quantity of saltwater fish, including some recovered from an abandoned canoe discovered at sea off the coast of Sierra Leone. As a result of this expedition Brown gained the nickname "Curio Brown" for his collecting prowess.

After the expedition Brown spent some time in South Africa collecting specimens where, on April 10, 1890, he joined the British South Africa Company's Pioneer Corps for their Pioneer Column expedition. Brown was severely wounded while fighting against Shona rebels during the Second Matabele War. He afterwards returned to the US where, in 1899, he published an account of his experiences as On the South African Frontier.

Brown returned to Rhodesia afterwards and settled on his farm, some outside of Salisbury. Having obtained British citizenship Brown served on the city council of Salisbury and was mayor between 1909 and 1910. He was also a member of the Chamber of Mines, Chamber of Commerce, the Mashonaland Farmers' Association, Rhodesia Agricultural Union, Rhodesia Agricultural Society and the Rhodesia Horticultural Society. Brown served on the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Council between 1909 and 1911. He died on April 5, 1913, in Salisbury. Brown has been described as having "helped to found" Rhodesia.