1829-1906 Solomon G. Brown, Artist Mapmaker Naturalist

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Solomon G. Brown,  Artist Mapmaker  Naturalist

first African-American employee & mapmaker at the Smithsonian Institution

contributed to blackpast.org  june 11, 2008 by :CHRISTOPHER BLUE

photo & example drawing courtesy Smithsonian Institution

"Solomon G. Brown, poet, lecturer, and scientific technician, became the first African American employee at the Smithsonian Institution.  He also played a significant role in the implementation of the first electric telegraph and was well versed in the study of natural history.  As a museum assistant, Brown "assisted in preparing maps and drawings (see below) for virtually all Smithsonian lectures between 1870 and 1887"…While at the Smithsonian, Brown educated himself in the field of natural history.  His association with the Smithsonian provided him with a plethora of information, which he passed on to scientific societies in Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and Alexandria, Virginia.   Brown was also a noted poet.  Brown retired from the Smithsonian in 1906 after 54 years with them.

(xHistory xPOC xBlack xAfricanAmerican  xUSA xArtist xMapmaker xNaturalist)