Avocation

Calling, which may or may not provide employment

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 their workplaces were their true passions in life.[1][2] Occasionally, as with Lord Baden-Powell and others, people who pursue an avocation are more remembered by history for their avocation than for their professional career.

Many times, a person's regular vocation may lead to an avocation. Many forms of humanitarian campaigning, such as work for organizations like 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]

## People with notable avocations

[edit]

### A

[edit]

August Wilhelm Ambros 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

[edit]

Robert Baden-Powell 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
Blades, Rubén | Activist  | Musician
Blom, Gertrude | Social anthropologist | Journalist
Borodin, Alexander | Composer  | Chemist
Brontë, Charlotte | Author  | Governess
Butchart, Harvey | Grand Canyon explorer | Mathematics professor

### C

[edit]

Copernicus Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Carpenter, Charles | Naturalist | Minister
Chekhov, Anton | Writer, playwright  | Physician
Copernicus, Nicolaus | Astronomer | Roman Catholic cleric
Cervantes, Miguel | Writer | Marine
Carter, Allister | Pilot | Snooker player

### D

[edit]

Olivia d'Abo Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

d'Abo, Olivia | Singer-songwriter  | Actress
Darger, Henry | Author, illustrator  | Custodian
Derleth, August | Naturalist | Novelist
Duncan, Watson | Actor  | Professor

### E

[edit]

Johannes Scotus Eriugena Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Eriugena, Johannes Scotus | Theologian  | Courtier
Ekimyan, Alexey | Composer  | Senior police official

### F

[edit]

Veronica Franco Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Fermat, Pierre de | Mathematician  | Lawyer
Foecke, Tim | Whittler, wooden toy maker  | Metallurgist
Franco, Veronica | Poet  | Courtesan
Ford, Harrison | Carpenter, pilot | Actor
Feynman, Richard[5] | Drummer  | Physicist

### G

[edit]

J. Paul Getty Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Getty, J. Paul | Art collector | Oilman
Gilbert, William | Natural philosopher | Physician
Gill, John | Boulderer  | Mathematician
Goldblum, Jeff | Jazz musician  | Actor
Grahame, Kenneth | Writer  | Bank of England executive

### H

[edit]

Hilda Hewlett Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Hass, Rudolph | Botany  | Letter carrier
Hewlett, Hilda | Woodwork, metalwork  | Aviatrice
Hillary, Sir Edmund | Mountaineer | Beekeeper
Hohlbaum, Robert | Writer  | Librarian
Houston, Charles | Mountaineer | Physician

### I

[edit]

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Ingres, Jean Auguste Dominique | Violinist  | Painter
Ives, Charles | Composer  | Insurance agent

### J

[edit]

Brian Jacques Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Jacques, Brian | Author  | Milkman
Jędruch, Jacek | Historian  | Nuclear engineer

### K

[edit]

Augusta Ada King, a.k.a. Ada Lovelace Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Kaleeba, Noerine | Activist  | Physiotherapist
Kafka, Franz | Writer  | Insurance assessor
Kent, Corita | Artist, printmaker  | Roman Catholic nun
King, Augusta Ada | Mathematician  | Courtier
Kogan, Richard, M.D. | Pianist  | Psychiatrist
Krakauer, Jon | Mountaineer | Journalist/writer
Kruger, Barbara | Artist  | Graphic designer

### L

[edit]

Hedy Lamarr Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Lamarr, Hedy | Inventor  | Actress
Lehrer, Tom | Singer/songwriter  | Mathematician
Lifton, Robert Jay | Cartoonist | Psychiatrist
Lluberas, Gerónimo  | Musician  | Physician
Luna, James | Artist  | Counselor

### M

[edit]

Gaston Means Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Maier, Vivian | Photographer  | Au pair
Means, Gaston | Con artist | Salesman
Meschian, Arthur | Singer & songwriter  | Architect
Morrison, Toni | Author  | Editor
Moses, Anna Mary Robertson | Painter  | Farmer

### N

[edit]

Emperor Norton Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Norton, Joshua A. | Eccentric (self-declared "Emperor of these United States")  | Businessman
Nabokov, Vladimir | Lepidopterist | Novelist

### O

[edit]

Anna Ottendorfer Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Obici, Amedeo | Farmer  | Businessman
Ottendorfer, Anna | Philanthropist  | Journalist

### P

[edit]

Michael Alfred Peszke Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Peszke, Michael Alfred | Historian  | Psychiatrist
Pekar, Harvey | Comic book writer  | File clerk

### Q

[edit]

Quirinus Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Quirinus of Neuss | Missionary | Tribune

### R

[edit]

Jeri Ryan Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Radi, Akbar | Playwright  | Teacher
Rodriguez, Sixto | Folk musician  | Demolition worker
Roget, Peter Mark | Lexicographer | Physician
Rousseau, Henri | Painter  | Tax collector
Ryan, Jeri | Chef | Actress

### S

[edit]

Mary Shelley Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Santos, Reynaldo dos | Art historian | Physician
Saro-Wiwa, Ken | Environmental activist | Television producer
Shelley, Mary | Political activist  | Author
Silva, Inocêncio Francisco da | Bibliographer | Clerk
Smith, Walter Parry Haskett | Bouldering | Lawyer
Stevens, Wallace | Poet  | Insurance executive[6]

### T

[edit]

J. R. R. Tolkien Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Thomas, Jean | Folk festival promoter | Stenographer
Tov, Baal Shem | Arbitrator and mediator | Rabbi
Tolkien, J. R. R. | Novelist  | Philologist
Trollope, Anthony | Novelist  | Royal Mail executive

### U

[edit]

Tracey Ullman Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Ullman, Tracey | Knitter and author[7] | Actress

### V

[edit]

Jean-Claude Van Damme Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Van Damme, Jean-Claude | Martial artist | Actor

### W

[edit]

Ida B. Wells Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Weller, Peter | Art historian | Actor
Wells, Ida B. | Suffragette | Journalist
White, Henry | Fox hunter | Diplomat
White, Kate | Author  | Editor-in-chief
Whorf, Benjamin Lee | Linguist | Fire prevention engineer
Williams, William Carlos | Poet  | Pediatrician[6]

### X

[edit]

Iannis Xenakis Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Xenakis, Iannis | Composer | Architect

### Y

[edit]

Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Yada, Lena | Surfer | Model, actress

## Fictional people with notable avocations

[edit]

Person  | Avocation  | Vocation

|
|

Kent, Clark / Kal-El (DC Comics)  | Superhero | Reporter
Stark, Tony (Marvel Comics)  | Superhero | Industrialist
Wayne, Bruce (DC Comics)  | Crime fighter | Philanthropist/industrialist/heir
Quijano, Alonso (Don Quixote)  | Knight-errant | Hidalgo
Schrute, Dwight (The Office)  | Beet farmer  | Paper salesman

## See also

[edit]

* Alter ego
* Otium
* Secret identity
* Vocation
* Volunteering
* List of amateur mathematicians

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Saunders, Travis (12 October 2009). "Avocation vs. Vocation". Dragon Intuitive. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
2. ^ Miller, Robert (10 February 2010). "Your avocation may save your life". The News-Times. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
3. ^ Boyd, Brian (20 October 2006). "A secret history of the old Ball game". Irish Times. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
4. ^ Giammona, Craig. "Avocation in Wood". Bowdoin. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
5. ^ Gleick, James (1992). Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman. Pantheon Books. p. 296. ISBN 978-0-679-40836-9. OCLC 243743850.
6. ^ a b Neary, Lynn (6 September 2016). "Idea For 'Gentleman in Moscow' Came From Many Nights in Luxury Hotels". National Public Radio. No. Morning Edition. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
7. ^ Montagne, Renee (29 September 2006). "Tracey Ullman Takes on Knitting". NPR. NPR.org. Retrieved 14 September 2015.

## External links

[edit]

Avocation at Wikipedia's sister projects

* Definitions from Wiktionary
* Media from Commons
* Quotations from Wikiquote
* Texts from Wikisource

* Alex Preston (12 June 2016). "If you want to be a better person, find something to do outside work". Quartz. Atlantic Media. Retrieved 10 September 2016.

Authority control databases: National |

* Germany

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*[a.k.a.]: also known as