Background
He was born in Scotland, and during the early part of his life was at Don"s nursery, Forfar.
He was born in Scotland, and during the early part of his life was at Don"s nursery, Forfar.
Thomas Drummond was the younger brother of the botanist James Drummond. He first became known to botanists by his distributed sets of mosses, ‘Musci Scotici,’ and afterwards was attached as assistant-naturalist to Doctor Richardson in Sir John Franklin"s second land expedition. He accordingly sailed from Liverpool 16 February
1825, and reached New York on the 15th of the following month.
The expedition moved westward by the river Hudson and lakes Ontario and Winnipeg to the Mackenzie river. Drummond quit the main party at Cumberland House to explore the Rocky Mountains.
On June 3, 1827, Drummond met David Douglas at Carlton House as Douglas was venturing overland from Fort Vancouver toward York Factory, Manitoba on his return trip to London, collecting for the Royal Horticultural Society.
In the spring of 1831 Drummond journeyed on foot by the Alleghany Mountains, reaching Saint Louis in July, where he fell illinois
In consequence of this delay he was unable to join the fur traders on their expedition to the north. He therefore was compelled to confine his explorations to New Orleans and thereabouts. Hence he made a botanical tour in Texas.
At Velasco an attack of cholera prostrated him, but on recovering he continued his labours.
Drummond collected along the Brazos, Colorado and Guadalupe Rivers, spending almost two years collecting plants and birds in Texas. His plant specimens from Texas were widely distributed in Europe and stimulated later botanical exploration.
(Geiser, 1949) He embarked finally for Havana 9 February 1835, and died at that port early in March.