Thomas Haughey Brown Jr. (January 29, 1950 – August 16, 2024) was an Americannaturalist,tracker,survivalist, and author fromNew Jersey, where he ran the Tom Brown Jr. Tracker School.

Brown was born inToms River, New Jersey on January 29, 1950.^[2] From the age of seven, as Brown wrote in his books, he and his childhood friend Rick were trained in tracking and wilderness survival by Rick's grandfather, "Stalking Wolf" (who Brown stated wasLipan Apache).^[3] Brown wrote that Stalking Wolf died when Brown was 17, and that Rick was killed in an accident in Europe shortly thereafter.^[4]

Brown spent the next ten years working odd jobs to support his wilderness adventures. He then set out to find other people inNew Jersey who were interested in his experiences. Initially Brown met with little success, but was eventually called on to help locate a crime suspect.^[5] Though the case won him national attention, he and authorities in theRamsey, New Jersey area were subsequently sued for 5 million dollars for charging the wrong person.^[5] Despite this controversy, he was able to build on this exposure to develop a profession as a full-time tracker, advertising his services for locating lost persons, dangerous animals, and fugitives from the law.^[6] According toPeople magazine, "He stalks men and animals, mostly in New Jersey."^[5]The New York Times said that he "was considered the country's foremost authority on wilderness survival".^[2]

Tom Brown Jr.'s Tracker School is located in theNew Jersey Pine Barrens.^[7] Most classes offered by Tracker School are held in Primitive Camp or Joseph Citta Boy Scout Camp, both of which are located nearWaretown, New Jersey.^[8] However, classes are also offered inCalifornia andFlorida.^[9] Workshops involve Brown'sversions ofPlains Indian ceremonies, including thesweat lodge andvision quest.^[10][11]

In July 1977, Tom Brown Jr. married Judy Duck Ford, 33. At the time Judy had a daughter Kerry, 15, and a son Paul, 11, from a previous marriage. The two had one child, Tom Brown III, together.^[5] Brown later married Debbie Brown and had two children with her, Coty Tracker Brown and River Scout Brown.^[12] Later, Brown married his third wife, Celeste Brown.^[7]

Brown died inNeptune, New Jersey, on August 16, 2024, at the age of 74.^[2]

Brown has written 18 books. His first bookThe Tracker, in 1978, chronicled his coming of age.Reader's Digest printed a condensed version of the story and provided information about Brown's new Tracker School. Tom Brown's books are published byPenguin Books:

• The Tracker (1978, 1986),ISBN 978-0-42-510133-9
• The Search (1980, 2001),ISBN 978-0-42-518181-2
• Field Guide to Living With the Earth (1984),ISBN 0-425-09147-3
• Guide to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants (1986),ISBN 978-0-42-510063-9
• Guide to City and Suburban Survival (1986),ISBN 978-0-425-09172-2
• Field Guide to Living with the Earth (1986),ISBN 978-0-42-509147-0
• Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking (1986),ISBN 978-0-42-509966-7
• Field Guide to the Forgotten Wilderness (1987),ISBN 978-0-42-509715-1
• Field Guide to Wilderness Survival (1987),ISBN 978-0-42-510572-6
• The Vision (1988),ISBN 978-0-42-510703-4
• Field Guide to Nature and Survival for Children (1989),ISBN 978-0-42-511106-2
• The Quest (1991),ISBN 0-425-12660-9
• The Journey (1992),ISBN 0-425-13364-8
• Grandfather (1993, 2001),ISBN 978-0-42-518174-4, audio book (2007)
• Awakening Spirits (1994),ISBN 978-0-42-514140-3
• The Way of the Scout (1995),ISBN 0-425-14779-7
• The Science and Art of Tracking (1999),ISBN 978-0-42-515772-5
• Case Files of the Tracker (2003),ISBN 978-0-42-518755-5
• Guide to Healing the Earth (2019),ISBN 978-0-42-525738-8

TheMother Earth News website provides these articles by Tom Brown Jr.:

•  CBS News reports:  24 June 2005   6 December 2006 

• Ernest Thompson Seton

• A 6-Day Experience at Tom Brown Jr.'s Tracker School
• The Tracker Trail
• The Tracker School

• 1950 births
• 2024 deaths
• 20th-century American naturalists
• People from Toms River, New Jersey
• Pine Barrens (New Jersey)
• Survivalists
• Writers from Ocean County, New Jersey
• 20th-century American writers
• 20th-century American male writers
• 21st-century American male writers
• 21st-century American writers

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