Nicolas Pike

Nicolas Pike (January 26, 1818 – April 11, 1905) was an American consul and a naturalist.[1][2]

He was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts and studied at Latin High School. He was named after his uncle; Nicholas Pike, a mathematician.[3] He moved to New York in 1839 and worked as a paper hanger.[4]

He served as consul in Oporto, Portugal.[4] He trained soldiers in Long Island during the American Civil War and attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.[4] He then served as U.S. Consul in Port Louis, Mauritius. He corresponded with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.[5] Edward Newton was the British official on the island and a bird enthusiast.[6]

He painted fish and collected specimens that are now part of collections at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University, the Mauritius Herbarium, and the American Museum of Natural History.[7][4]

He lived in Brooklyn there he was a director of the Brooklyn Institute (which one? Presumably the school?)

He documented fish species in the Western Indian Ocean habitat around Mauritius and neighboring islands.[8]

He imported English sparrows and introduced them in New York.[9][10]

Pomacentrus pikei, a damselfish, is named for him.[4]