Arthur Stark

Arthur Stark

Arthur Cowell Stark (1846 – November 18, 1899) was a medical doctor and naturalist. He emigrated from Torquay, England to Cape Town, South Africa in 1885. He lived in (the British colonies of) South Africa during the last 14 years of his life and died during the Siege of Ladysmith at the age of 54. He is best known for initiating an ornithological work, "The Birds of South Africa". __NOTOC__

outh African work

After the death of his wife he settled in Cape Town, while his daughters remained in England. Besides practicing as medical doctor he travelled regularly to collect animal specimens for the South African Museum and made sketches and extensive notes of his observations. He moved from Cape Town to Durban shortly before the outbreak of the Boer War and travelled to England in 1899 to oversee the printing of the first volume of his ornithological work, "The Birds of South Africa". The completed series was meant to form part of a wider project under the editorship of William Sclater, director of the South African Museum, describing the fauna of southern Africa. Dr Stark returned to the Colony of Natal in September, 1899, where he volunteered as medical officer for the British forces when the Boer War broke out.

Death at Ladysmith

During the siege of Ladysmith he was resident in the Royal Hotel, but spent the days in shell-proof dugouts along the Klip River, or fishing, while the town was being shelled by Boer forces. Dr Stark had just returned and was standing on the hotel's veranda on the evening of November 18th, 1899, when at 19:30 the Long Tom cannon stationed on Pepworth Hill fired two shots at the hotel. These were aimed at important persons who may have assembled there, probably Dr. Jameson and Colonel Rhodes who were known to be in town.cite book|last = Nevinson|first = H.W.|coauthors =|title = Ladysmith, The Diary of a Siege|publisher = Methuen & co., London|date = 1900|pages = p. 107|isbn = ]

Dr Stark's legs were mangled by the second shell and he died shortly afterwards on the operating table. Dr Stark was buried in Ladysmith. H.W. Nivenson who was present records the irony of him being a strong opponent of the Chamberlain policy, and a vigorous denouncer of the war's injustice.

Completion of project

Dr Stark's field notes were afterwards recovered from Ladysmith and his Durban home. His executors entrusted these to William Sclater, director of the South African Museum, to be prepared for the second volume of the "The Birds of South Africa". This volume appeared in 1902 as part of Sclater's series "The Fauna of South Africa".

In 1902 Captain George Shelley also named Stark’s Lark, "Spizocorys starki", in Dr Stark's honour. William Sclater, Dr Stark's co-author of "The Birds of South Africa", died in 1944 from injuries sustained from a V-1 flying bomb dropped in London.

References

* "Auk", XVII, April 1900, pp. 189, 190. A review of volume 1 of "The Birds of South Africa"
* "Auk", XIX, Jan 1902, pp. 106, 107. Completion of volume 2 of "The Birds of South Africa"
* "Birding in SA" 42 (1), 1990, "Whose name for the bird?", Craig, A.

External reference

* [http://ladysmith.kzn.org.za/ls/36.xml Stark's death during the Siege of Ladysmith]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Arthur Dake — Arthur William Dake (* 8. April 1910 in Portland, Oregon; † 28. April 2000 in Reno, Nevada) war ein US amerikanischer Schachspieler. In den 1930er Jahren gehörte Dake zu den besten Spielern seines Landes und gewann mit der Nationalmannschaft die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Arthur Sullivan — Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (* 13. Mai 1842 in London; † 22. November 1900 in London) war ein englischer Komponist, Musikwissenschaftler, Organist und Dirigent …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Arthur Hyde — Arthur M. Hyde Arthur Mastick Hyde (* 12. Juli 1877 in Princeton, Mercer County, Missouri; † 17. Oktober 1947 in New York City) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker ( …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Arthur Mastick Hyde — Arthur M. Hyde Arthur Mastick Hyde (* 12. Juli 1877 in Princeton, Mercer County, Missouri; † 17. Oktober 1947 in New York City) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker ( …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Arthur Calwell — Arthur Augustus Calwell (* 28. August 1896 in Melbourne; † 8. Juli 1973) war ein australischer Politiker. Er war unter Anderem Vorsitzender der Australian Labor Party von 1960 bis 1967. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Arthur Schnitzler — (* 15. Mai 1862 in Wien; † 21. Oktober 1931 ebenda) war ein österreichischer Erzähler und Dramatiker. Er gilt als einer der bedeutendsten Vertreter der Wiener Moderne. Arthur Schnitzler, ca. 1912, Fotografie von Ferdinand S …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Arthur Schopenhauer — Arthur Schopenhauer, 1859 Arthur Schopenhauer (* 22. Februar 1788 in Danzig; † 21. September 1860 in Frankfurt am Main) war ein deutscher Philosoph, Autor und Hochschullehrer. Er war der Sohn der Schriftstellerin und Salonière Johanna… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Arthur C. Brooks — (born May 21, 1964, in Spokane, Wash.) is an American social scientist and musician. A named professor at Syracuse University s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and Whitman School of Management who will become president of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Arthur Abraham — Daten …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Arthur Berson — Josef Arthur Stanislaus Berson (auch: Joseph Arthur Stanislaus Berson; * 6. August 1859 in Neu Sandez, Galizien; † 3. Dezember 1942 in Berlin) war ein deutscher Meteorologe und Wegbereiter der Aerologie. Bekannt geworden ist er auch durch seine… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

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