Miner, Jack

Jack Miner, byname of John Thomas Miner, (born April 10, 1865, Dover Centre, Ohio, U.S.—died Nov. 3, 1944, Kingsville, Ont., Can.), Canadian naturalist, author, and lecturer who won a reputation as a leading bird conservationist and who conducted extensive research into migratory patterns.

Miner moved to Essex county, Ont., in 1878. In 1904, on his farm at Kingsville, he established a bird sanctuary that became widely known. Banding more than 50,000 ducks between 1910 and 1915, he made the first complete banding records of North American birds. His sanctuary eventually became the temporary home of more than 50,000 migrating Canada geese. In 1931 his friends established the Jack Miner Migratory Bird Foundation to ensure the continuation of his work. He received the Order of the British Empire in 1943 “for the greatest achievement in Conservation in the British Empire.”