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Thomas Broun
Thomas Broun (né Brown; 15 July 1838 – 24 August 1919) was a Scottish-born soldier, farmer, teacher and entomologist, who spent much of his career in New Zealand. He is known for his study of the beetles (Coleoptera) of New Zealand.
Broun was born in an upper-class Edinburgh family, and appears to have received his education entirely from a private tutor. He served from around the age of sixteen as an officer in the British militia and army, first in the Forfar Militia Artillery and, from 1856, in the 35th (Sussex) Regiment of Foot. He fought in the Crimean War and was subsequently posted to Burma, where he began his interest in entomology. He saw further combat in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, but was invalided out of the army in 1862, at the age of twenty-four, after a near-fatal bout of cholera. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1863, where he gained a commission in the Waikato Militia and commanded troops during the Second Taranaki War.
Upon leaving military service in 1866, Broun attempted to establish himself as a farmer, though legal troubles forced him into bankruptcy the following year. He presented his first entomological paper in 1875, became a teacher in 1876 and worked in various schools around Auckland until 1888. His most significant scientific work, the Manual of the New Zealand Coleoptera, was published in seven volumes from 1880, though he remained an amateur until the 1890s, when he was appointed as a government entomologist and as an inspector of imported fruits. He died on 24 August 1919 in Auckland.
Broun has been credited among the most prolific identifiers of New Zealand's beetles, and as one of the most important figures in their study. Over the course of his career, he made identifications of 4,323 species, of which 3,538 were previously unknown to science. However, his documentation of his work was poor, and many of the species he identified were in fact synonyms of each other, leading to what has been termed the "Broun effect", by which estimates of the number of beetle species in New Zealand have been substantially overestimated.
Thomas Broun was born into an aristocratic family in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, on 15 July 1838. He was the son of John Brown, a soldier, artist and respected naturalist, and Brown's wife Margaret Stewart. John Brown's brother, Thomas, was a captain in the British Army and also known as a naturalist.
Broun was educated by a private tutor in Edinburgh, which appears to have been the only formal education he received. He joined the Forfar Militia Artillery around 1854; on 8 July 1856, at which point he held the rank of first lieutenant, he transferred without purchase as an ensign to the regular army's 35th (Sussex) Regiment of Foot, which was engaged in the Crimean War. After the end of the war in 1856, the regiment was deployed to Burma, where Broun took an interest in the region's brightly-coloured tropical insects and began to collect specimens to send to the British Museum in London.
In May 1857, the regiment moved to Calcutta as a result of the Indian rebellion against British rule. Broun fought in the sieges of Lucknow and Delhi, and is believed to have assisted in the defence of the French colony of Pondicherry; he was awarded the French Légion d'honneur in 1917, and maintained that this was in recognition of his service at Pondicherry. He served in India until the end of the rebellion in November 1858, and was awarded the Indian Mutiny Medal. He was promoted to lieutenant on 17 March 1861, and was nearly killed by a bout of cholera late in the same year; he returned to Britain and was invalided out of the army in 1862. His retirement at the rank of lieutenant was reported in The London Gazette as effective on 3 October 1862.
Broun married Anne Shepherd, an educated woman interested in languages, music, birds and other animals, on 26 March 1863. They had six daughters together. The couple emigrated to New Zealand in 1863. Broun had obtained letters of introduction from the Duke of Hamilton, a Scottish aristocrat, to George Grey, the governor of New Zealand; Grey gave him a commission as a captain in the 1st Battalion of the Waikato Militia, which was being formed to fight in the Second Taranaki War. During the war, he was stationed in South Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty, and was placed in command of several redoubts. These included Alexandra Redoubt at Tuakau, where he was in command during late 1862; he later commanded another redoubt at Cambridge and Judea Redoubt at Tauranga. Broun was later awarded the New Zealand War Medal, in 1916, for having served in combat.
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Thomas Broun
Thomas Broun (né Brown; 15 July 1838 – 24 August 1919) was a Scottish-born soldier, farmer, teacher and entomologist, who spent much of his career in New Zealand. He is known for his study of the beetles (Coleoptera) of New Zealand.
Broun was born in an upper-class Edinburgh family, and appears to have received his education entirely from a private tutor. He served from around the age of sixteen as an officer in the British militia and army, first in the Forfar Militia Artillery and, from 1856, in the 35th (Sussex) Regiment of Foot. He fought in the Crimean War and was subsequently posted to Burma, where he began his interest in entomology. He saw further combat in the Indian Rebellion of 1857, but was invalided out of the army in 1862, at the age of twenty-four, after a near-fatal bout of cholera. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1863, where he gained a commission in the Waikato Militia and commanded troops during the Second Taranaki War.
Upon leaving military service in 1866, Broun attempted to establish himself as a farmer, though legal troubles forced him into bankruptcy the following year. He presented his first entomological paper in 1875, became a teacher in 1876 and worked in various schools around Auckland until 1888. His most significant scientific work, the Manual of the New Zealand Coleoptera, was published in seven volumes from 1880, though he remained an amateur until the 1890s, when he was appointed as a government entomologist and as an inspector of imported fruits. He died on 24 August 1919 in Auckland.
Broun has been credited among the most prolific identifiers of New Zealand's beetles, and as one of the most important figures in their study. Over the course of his career, he made identifications of 4,323 species, of which 3,538 were previously unknown to science. However, his documentation of his work was poor, and many of the species he identified were in fact synonyms of each other, leading to what has been termed the "Broun effect", by which estimates of the number of beetle species in New Zealand have been substantially overestimated.
Thomas Broun was born into an aristocratic family in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, on 15 July 1838. He was the son of John Brown, a soldier, artist and respected naturalist, and Brown's wife Margaret Stewart. John Brown's brother, Thomas, was a captain in the British Army and also known as a naturalist.
Broun was educated by a private tutor in Edinburgh, which appears to have been the only formal education he received. He joined the Forfar Militia Artillery around 1854; on 8 July 1856, at which point he held the rank of first lieutenant, he transferred without purchase as an ensign to the regular army's 35th (Sussex) Regiment of Foot, which was engaged in the Crimean War. After the end of the war in 1856, the regiment was deployed to Burma, where Broun took an interest in the region's brightly-coloured tropical insects and began to collect specimens to send to the British Museum in London.
In May 1857, the regiment moved to Calcutta as a result of the Indian rebellion against British rule. Broun fought in the sieges of Lucknow and Delhi, and is believed to have assisted in the defence of the French colony of Pondicherry; he was awarded the French Légion d'honneur in 1917, and maintained that this was in recognition of his service at Pondicherry. He served in India until the end of the rebellion in November 1858, and was awarded the Indian Mutiny Medal. He was promoted to lieutenant on 17 March 1861, and was nearly killed by a bout of cholera late in the same year; he returned to Britain and was invalided out of the army in 1862. His retirement at the rank of lieutenant was reported in The London Gazette as effective on 3 October 1862.
Broun married Anne Shepherd, an educated woman interested in languages, music, birds and other animals, on 26 March 1863. They had six daughters together. The couple emigrated to New Zealand in 1863. Broun had obtained letters of introduction from the Duke of Hamilton, a Scottish aristocrat, to George Grey, the governor of New Zealand; Grey gave him a commission as a captain in the 1st Battalion of the Waikato Militia, which was being formed to fight in the Second Taranaki War. During the war, he was stationed in South Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty, and was placed in command of several redoubts. These included Alexandra Redoubt at Tuakau, where he was in command during late 1862; he later commanded another redoubt at Cambridge and Judea Redoubt at Tauranga. Broun was later awarded the New Zealand War Medal, in 1916, for having served in combat.
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