Edmund L. Goldsborough: Fisheries Pioneer

Edmund Lee Goldsborough was born in Gerrardstown, Maryland in 1868, just three years after the end of the Civil War. He had an enduring passion for bettering both his local community and the public at large; his first jobs were as a local pharmacist, and then a teacher. With such a track record in public service, it's no surprise that a job with the Bureau of Fisheries was the next step.

To learn more about the Fish Commission's rail workers and their duties, check out our other exhibit: When Fish Traveled First Class by Rail.

Goldsborough has been quoted to say that he felt as if he were "a month from anywhere" while in Hawai'i. He grappled with feeling homesick and isolated while surrounded by some of the most extraordinary sights he'd ever seen. Even for a man that had previously traveled coast to coast, the feeling of being "in another world" was hard to shake. But soon enough, he got into a rhythm with the work--Goldsborough had found his niche, at last.

That initial homesickness would not deter Goldsborough from future traveling exploits. He went on to attend another Evermann expedition, to Alaska, along with taking many trips along the East Coast to continue studying fish.  Altogether, Goldsborough and his coworkers named and described 43 unique fish species.