Thomas Dearborn Burleigh (1895-1973) was born on November 24, 1895, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He developed an interest in birds at a young age. During World War I, he served with the American Expeditionary Force in Europe, where he learned forestry practices. This led to a master's degree in forestry from the University of Washington in 1920. He then went on to the University of Georgia in Athens where he founded and served as the chairman of the School of Forestry until 1930. During that time, he traveled around the state recording birdlife from the coast to the highest mountains. He moved to Ashville, North Carolina, and worked as the forest wildlife biologist for the Bureau of Biological Survey, later returning to Georgia in 1945 to work at the Fish and Wildlife Service to complete his book, Birds of Georgia. He also traveled to Moscow, Idaho, to write another book, Birds of Idaho. He retired from the Service in 1971, continuing to travel and collect birds. He died on August 25, 1973.
Smithsonian Institution Archives Field Book Project: Person : Description : rid_468_pid_EACP465
