Charles Pitman (scientist)

Charles Pitman (scientist)

Charles Robert Senhouse Pitman DSO, MC (19 March, 1890 – 18 September, 1975), was a noted herpetologist, conservationist and friend of Joy Adamson.

Contents

Early life

Charles Pitman was born in Bombay and educated at the Royal Naval School, Eltham, at Blundell's School in Tiverton, and at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which he left in 1909 having obtained a commission in the Indian Army.

Military career

After a brief initial posting, Pitman joined the 27th Punjabi Regiment with which he stayed from 1910 to 1921 when he retired from the army to take up farming in Kenya. During his army career, which spanned World War I, Pitman fought in Mesopotamia (where he was awarded the DSO and MC), and also in Egypt and France.

Life in Africa

In 1924 Pitman was offered the position of Game Warden of the Uganda Protectorate. After his marriage to Marjorie Fielding Duncan, he assumed this post which he held from 1925-1951, interrupted only by three years (1931-1933) spent in Northern Rhodesia as Acting Game Warden and undertaking a faunal survey, and by five years (1941-1946) during which he was Director, Security Intelligence (Uganda).

Later life

After leaving Uganda in 1951, Pitman and his wife moved to London and during this time Pitman was very active with conservation and preservation groups such as the Elsa Foundation, the Fauna Preservation Society, and the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. He kept up an active correspondence with other naturalists such as Joy Adamson and C.J.P. Ionides.

Writings and research

Correspondence was one of the primary ways in which Pitman conducted his zoological, herpetological, and ornithological research, as he relied almost solely on his own observations or the first-hand observations of others for data. This is particularly apparent in his files relating to the second edition of his Guide to the Snakes of Uganda (1974). This book, which was originally published in serial form in the Uganda Journal (1936-1937), is the foundation for Pitman's reputation as a methodical and exhaustive herpetologist. He was not limited to one area of research, however, and planned to publish, and at the time of his death had completed the typescript of, a book on elephants. This was to have been illustrated with his own photographs, as were his other autobiographical books, A Game Warden Among His Charges (1931) and A Game Warden Takes Stock (1942). As well as books, Pitman's published a plethora of articles, in scientific and popular journals, magazines and newspapers.

Pitman's work became known to the public through radio interviews and newspaper articles concerning East Africa and the need for game conservation.

Pitman's support of museum collections, especially the Hebrew University, Natural History Museum, Liverpool Museum, The Royal Albert Museum, Exeter, and the American Museum of Natural History, New York, was generous and long-continued. For example, Pitman donated some three thousand meticulously documented clutches of eggs, to the Natural History Museum.

The Pitman Collection

Charles Pitman's papers were given to the Natural History Museum in 1975 by his wife shortly following her husband's death and The Pitman Collection is catalogued on URICA under BRN 299618 (shelf mark Z MSS PIT).

Two folders of notes and correspondence on Uganda had been deposited by Pitman at the Rhodes House Library (part of the main Bodleian Library in Oxford. Rhodes House also holds a complete set of Annual Reports of the Game Department in Uganda which Pitman wrote from 1925 to 1951. A 12 inch LP disc, Birds of the Drakensberg by Henley and Pooley published in 1970, and a 6 inch Bird Sounds and Songs by Stannard published in 1971, as well as two unpublished acetate discs bearing recordings of Pitman talking about his conservation work, have been deposited with the British Library Sound Archive.

Publications

  • A game warden among his charges, 1931. London: Nisbet & Co. Ltd. 336pp. LCCN: 32003884.
  • A report on a faunal survey of Northern Rhodesia with especial reference to game, elephant control, and national parks, 1934. Government Printer (Livingstone). LCCN: 36014685.
  • A game warden takes stock, 1942. London: J. Nisbet. 287pp. LCCN: 43003441
  • A Guide to the Snakes of Uganda, 1974. London: Codicote, Wheldon & Wesley, Ltd. 102 pp. ISBN 0-85486-020-7.

Sources


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Earth Sciences — ▪ 2009 Introduction Geology and Geochemistry       The theme of the 33rd International Geological Congress, which was held in Norway in August 2008, was “Earth System Science: Foundation for Sustainable Development.” It was attended by nearly… …   Universalium

  • Climatic Research Unit email controversy — Date 17 November 2009 Location Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia Also known as Climategate Inquiries House of Commons Science and Technology Committee (UK)[1] Independent Climate Change Review (UK) International Science Assessment …   Wikipedia

  • Flood geology — Part of a series on Creationism History of creationism Neo creationism …   Wikipedia

  • Alexander Graham Bell — Infobox Person name = Alexander Graham Bell image size = 225px caption = Portrait of Alexander Graham Bell c. 1910 birth date = 3 March 1847 birth place = Edinburgh, Scotland, UK death date = death date and age|1922|8|2|1847|3|3|df=y death place …   Wikipedia

  • Ford Hall Forum — The Ford Hall Forum is the oldest free public lecture series in the United States. Founded in 1908, it continues to host open lectures and discussions in the Greater Boston area. Some of the more well known past speakers include Maya Angelou,… …   Wikipedia

  • Meanings of minor planet names: 17001–18000 — As minor planet discoveries are confirmed, they are given a permanent number by the IAU s Minor Planet Center, and the discoverers can then submit names for them, following the IAU s naming conventions. The list below concerns those minor planets …   Wikipedia

  • January 12 — Events *475 Basiliscus becomes Byzantine Emperor, with a coronation ceremony in the Hebdomon palace in Constantinople. *1528 Gustav I of Sweden crowned king of Sweden. *1539 Treaty of Toledo signed by King Francis I of France and Holy Roman… …   Wikipedia

  • Survivors — infobox Television show name = Survivors caption = This is the main title caption that was seen throughout the series. format = Drama runtime = 50 minutes creator = Terry Nation starring = Ian McCulloch Lucy Fleming Carolyn Seymour Denis Lill… …   Wikipedia

  • Avicenna — Infobox Muslim scholars | notability = Persian scholar| era = Islamic golden age| color = #cef2e0 | | image caption = | | name = transl|ar|Abū ʿAlī al Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā Balkhi (Avicenna)| title= Sharaf al Mulk, Hujjat al Haq, Sheikh… …   Wikipedia

  • List of University of New South Wales people — This is a list of University of New South Wales, Australia, people, including notable alumni and staff.AlumniPolitics and Law*Bob Bellear, first indigenous judge *Bob Carr, former New South Wales premier *Kerry Nettle, Australian Greens senator… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”