Henry Beaumont Small

Who was Henry Beaumont Small?

H. Beaumont Small was a Canadian civil servant and an early naturalist who authored a number of books on forestry, minerals, animals, botany, and tourism.

Born in Market Bosworth, Leicestershire, England on October 31, 1831, he was the son of the Rev. Nathaniel Pomfret Small and Catherine Lee. He was born after his mother was gored by a bull. She died one hour after delivering her son.

Receiving his first degree from King's College London in 1850, he went on to attend Lincoln College, Oxford, graduating in 1853. Seeing the opportunities Canada offered in the field of Natural History, he emigrated there shortly after obtaining his degrees.

He later relocated to the United States to become a Classical Professor at a military college in what today is Ossining, New York. After spending two years in this capacity, he continued on in the U.S. being a private tutor for a time in New York, and then serving in the United States Sanitary Commission in Virginia during the American Civil War.

About the time his first book was published in 1865, he returned to Canada and entered into civil service. In 1868, he joined the Marine and Fisheries Department shortly after its formation.