Born:             2 March 1866, Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia

Died:              15 November 1961, Halifax, Nova Scotia

Field:             Botany, specializing in bryophytes

Margaret Sibella Brown achieved an international reputation for her work on the taxonomy and ecology of bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) at a time when women in science were relatively rare. Her foray activities extended well beyond Nova Scotia, and the region, as she developed her expertise working with other internationally recognized botanists. The impact of her work in Nova Scotia is notable given that she identified, preserved and catalogued her extensive collections of these poorly known plants. Her collections are now housed at the E.C. Smith Herbarium at Acadia University as well as at other herbaria in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and other important repositories in Canada, England and the United States.

Brown received an honorary MA from Acadia University in 1950, when she was 84 years old.