Alexander Milton Ross
|Alexander Milton Ross|
December 13, 1832|
Belleville, Upper Canada
|Died||October 27, 1897
|Other names||The Birdman|
Alexander Milton Ross, (December 13, 1832 – October 27, 1897), was born in Belleville, Upper Canada and died in Detroit, Michigan, USA.|abolitionist]] who was an agent for the secret Underground Railroad slave escape network, known in that organization and among slaves as "The Birdman" for his preferred cover story as an ornithologist.
Alexander Milton Ross is the author of many books: Recollections of an Abolitionist (Montreal, 1867) ; Birds of Canada (1872) ; Butterflies and Moths of Canada (1873); Flora of Canada (1873); Forest Trees of Canada, (1874); Ferns and Wild Flowers of Canada (1877) ; Mammals, Reptiles, and Fresh-water Fishes of Canada (1878); Vaccination a Medical Delusion (1885); and Medical Practice of the Great Future.
He also appears as a character in the 1977 children's novel Underground to Canada which depicts four young slaves who, with Ross's help, escape to Canada via the Underground Railroad.
Wright, Rick (2009) Birder undercover: the life and times of Alexander Milton Ross Birding 41(2): 46-50