Pearson, Thomas Gilbert

Pearson, Thomas Gilbert

(1873–1943) ornithologist, conservationist; born in Tuscola, Ill. The son of a Quaker farmer, he graduated from the University of North Carolina (1899), taught school, and published Stories of Bird Life in 1901. He organized the North Carolina Audubon Society in 1902 and three years later helped found the National Association of Audubon Societies. As president of the association (1920–34), he lobbied for laws protecting birds and for the creation of bird sanctuaries. His autobiography, Adventures in Bird Protection, appeared in 1937.