Barbara Elaine Ruth Brown


Barbara Elaine Ruth Brown was an American biologist and philanthropist.

Early Life

Brown was born Barbara Russell, on 14 February 1929 in Chicago; her parents were Jewish immigrants from Romania and Russia. She studied graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a bachelor's degree in Economics. In 1953, she married Roger Brown; they went on to have six children together.

Career

For 47 years, she worked at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois. Her career began as an assistant to the zoologist Philip Hershkovitz. Her field research included expeditions to the Cerrado savanna and to the Atlantic coastal forest of Brazil. She was a skilled animal collector, with expertise in preparing specimens and setting traps.

Eponyms

Brown has had 4 new species named after her. These include:
With her husband Roger Brown, she has philanthropically supported the Field Museum, the Science Museum of Minnesota, and the Chicago Botanic Garden. This endowment included the new post - the Barbara Brown Chair of Ornithology - who directs the Science Museum of Minnesota’s new ornithology department.