Avocation
American First Lady Bess Truman with Girl Scouts and their volunteer leaders
An avocation is an activity that someone engages in as a hobby outside their main occupation. There are many examples of people whose professions were the ways that they made their livings, but for whom their activities outside of their workplaces were their true passions in life.[1][2] Occasionally, as with Lord Baden-Powell and others, a person who pursues an avocation is more remembered by history for their avocation than for their professional career.
Many times a person's regular vocation may lead to their avocation. Many forms of humanitarian campaigning, such as work for organizations such as Amnesty International and Greenpeace may be done by people involved in the law or human rights issues as part of their work.[3]
Many people involved with youth work pursue this as an avocation.[4]
Contents
Avocation in literature
But yield who will to their separation,
My object in living is to unite
My avocation and my vocation
As my two eyes make one in sight.
Only where love and need are one,
And the work is play for mortal stakes,
Is the deed ever really done
For heaven and the future's sakes.— Robert Frost, Two Tramps in Mud Time, st. 9
People whose avocations were not their vocations
A
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Adams, Frederick | luthier | physician |
| Allen, Woody | Jazz musician | filmmaker |
| Alston, Joseph Cameron | badminton player | federal agent |
| Ambros, August Wilhelm | Musical Archaeologist | Austrian civil service |
B
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| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Baden-Powell, Robert | Scouting | Military Officer |
| Balzary, Michael | non-profit Management | Musician |
| Barr, William | Bagpiper | Attorney |
| Benedetto, Anthony | Painter | Singer |
| Bennett, William | Clarinetist | Physicist |
| Billroth, Theodor | Pianist | Surgeon |
| Blom, Gertrude | Social anthropologist | Journalist |
| Borodin, Alexander | Composer | Chemist |
| Butchart, Harvey | Grand Canyon Explorer | Mathematics Professor |
C
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Carpenter, Charles | naturalist | minister |
| Chekhov, Anton | writer, playwright | physician |
| Copeland, Johnny | boxer | blues guitarist |
| Copernicus, Nicolaus | Astronomer | Roman Catholic cleric |
D
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| d'Abo, Olivia | singer-songwriter | Actress |
| Derleth, August | naturalist | Novelist |
| Duncan, Watson | Actor | Professor |
E
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Eriugena, Johannes Scotus | Theologian | Poet |
F
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Fermat, Pierre de | Mathematician | Lawyer |
| Franco, Veronica | Poet | Courtesan |
| Ford, Harrison | Carpenter | Actor |
G
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Getty, J. Paul | Art collector | Oilman |
H
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Hewlett, Hilda | woodwork, metalwork | aviatrice |
| Hillary, Sir Edmund | mountaineer | beekeeper |
| Hohlbaum, Robert | writer | librarian |
| Houston, Charles | mountaineer | physician |
I
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Ingres, Jean Auguste Dominique | violinist | painter |
| Ives, Charles | composer | insurance agent |
J
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Jacques, Brian | author | milkman |
| Jędruch, Jacek | historian | Nuclear engineer |
K
.jpg)
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Kaleeba, Noerine | activist | physiotherapist |
| Kafka, Franz | writer | insurance assessor |
| King, Augusta Ada | mathematician | courtier |
| Kogan, Richard, M.D. | pianist | psychiatrist |
| Krakauer, Jon | mountaineer | journalist/writer |
L
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Lamarr, Hedy | Inventor | Actress |
| Lifton, Robert Jay | Cartoonist | Psychiatrist |
| Lluberas, Gerónimo | musician | physician |
M
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Means, Gaston | Con artist | salesman |
N
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Norton, Joshua A. | Emperor of these United States | businessman |
O
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Obici, Amedeo | farmer | businessman |
| Ottendorfer, Anna | philanthropist | journalist |
P
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Peszke, Michael Alfred | historian | psychiatrist |
Q
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Quirinus of Neuss | missionary | tribune |
R
.jpg)
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Reed, John Silas | Revolutionary | journalist |
| Roget, Peter Mark | Lexicographer | Physician |
| Ryan, Jeri | Chef | actress |
S
.jpg)
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Saro-Wiwa, Ken | Environmental activist | Television producer |
| Shelley, Mary | Political activist | Author |
| Smith, Walter Parry Haskett | Bouldering | lawyer |
| Stevens, Wallace | Poet | Insurance executive[5] |
T
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Thomas, Jean | folk festival promoter | stenographer |
| Tov, Baal Shem | arbitrator and mediator | Rabbi |
| Tolkien, J. R. R. | novelist | Philologist |
U
.jpg)
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Ullman, Tracey | knitter and author[6] | actress |
W
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Weller, Peter | Art historian | actor |
| Wells, Ida B. | suffragette | Journalist |
| White, Henry | fox hunter | diplomat |
| Whorf, Benjamin Lee | Linguist | fire prevention engineer |
| Williams, William Carlos | Poet | Pediatrician[5] |
X
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Xenakis, Iannis | composer | architect |
Y
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| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Yada, Lena | surfer | model, actress |
Z
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Zappa, Frank | 20th-century composer | Popular music (composer, performer, producer) |
Fictional people whose avocations were not their vocations
Bruce Wayne as his alter ego Batman
| Person | Avocation | Vocation |
|---|---|---|
| Kent, Clark / Kal-El | Superhero | Reporter |
| Stark, Tony | Superhero | Industrialist |
| Wayne, Bruce | crime fighter | Philanthropist/Industrialist/Heir |
| Quijano, Alonso | Knight-errant | Hidalgo |
See also
External links
- Photos tagged with "avocation" at Flickr
- Alex Preston (12 June 2016). "If you want to be a better person, find something to do outside of work". Quartz. Atlantic Media. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
References
- ↑ Travis Saunders. "Avocation-vs-vocation". Retrieved 10 February 2011.
- ↑ Robert Miller (10 February 2010). "Your avocation may save your life.". The News-Times. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
- ↑ Boyd, B (20 October 2006). "A secret history of the old Ball game.". Irish Times. Retrieved 2007-07-04.
- ↑ Craig Giammona. "Avocation in Wood". Bowdoin. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
- 1 2 Neary, Lynn (6 September 2016). "Idea For 'Gentleman in Moscow' Came From Many Nights in Luxury Hotels". National Public Radio (Morning Edition). Retrieved 2016-09-06.
- ↑ "Tracey Ullman Takes on Knitting". NPR. NPR.org. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
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