Thomas Gilbert Pearson (1873–1943), was an American conservationist and one of the first faculty members at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

[1] Pearson grew up in the woods of central Florida, having moved there at the age of 9 from Dublin, Indiana.

He wrote to many schools and colleges, hoping to secure admission and pay for his education with his collection.

At the age of 18, in 1891, President Lyndon Hobbs of Guilford College accepted Pearson's offer.

In return, Pearson received board and tuition for two years if he would also collect and mount birds for the college.

[2][3] After graduating from college, Pearson decided to devote his time and energy to arousing the people of North Carolina to the idea of protecting their fast-declining bird life.

Pearson used the platform of the society created in North Carolina to encourage the legislature to pass a law that would be the states' first step towards wildlife conservation.

Pearson, a great orator, convinced an audience of fashionably attired women by educating them about the plumes featured in their hats.

Pearson became secretary of the National Association of Audubon Societies and later served as president for 14 years starting in 1920 with the death of William Dutcher.