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William Ferguson (botanist)
William Ferguson FRSE FLS DL FGS (1820–1887), was a botanist and entomologist. He specialised in algae and ferns. Career Ferguson entered the Ceylon civil service in 1839, arriving in the island in December of that year. Here he lived until his death on 31 July 1887. He occupied his leisure time in botanical and entomological studies, gaining an intimate knowledge of the flora and insect life of the island, and publishing from time to time the results of his observations and researches in '' The Ceylon Observer'' and the ''Tropical Agriculturist''. His work obtained recognition from Dr. Hooker and other eminent biologists (see Ceylon, Physical, Historical and Topographical). Also, in the scientific field of herpetology, Ferguson described two new species of reptiles, ''Aspidura guentheri'' and '' Cnemaspis scalpensis''. In 1874 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were William Dickson, David MacLagan, Thomas Brown and John MacGregor McCa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FRSE
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This society received a royal charter in 1783, allowing for its expansion. Elections Around 50 new fellows are elected each year in March. there are around 1,650 Fellows, including 71 Honorary Fellows and 76 Corresponding Fellows. Fellows are entitled to use the post-nominal letters FRSE, Honorary Fellows HonFRSE, and Corresponding Fellows CorrFRSE. Disciplines The Fellowship is split into four broad sectors, covering the full range of physical and life sciences, arts, humanities, social sciences, education, professions, industry, business and public life. A: Life Sciences * A1: Biomedical and Cognitive Sciences * A2: Clinical Sciences * A3: Organismal and Environmental Biology * A4: Cell and Molecular Biology B: Physical, Engineering and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Dickson (chemist)
William Dickson TD MBE FRSE FRSC (23 January 1905 – 21 October 1992) was a Scottish chemist and educator. He was the only British schoolteacher to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He was proud of his fishing heritage. A keen fisherman he held the claim to fame for catching one of Scotland’s largest ever halibut .Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Obituary: Dec 1992) He believed that education, and teaching, should be enjoyable. His nickname amongst pupils was Cappy Dick. Life He was born on 23 January 1905 in St Abbs on the south-east Scottish coast, the son of a lobster-fisherman. He was educated in St Abbs then strongly encouraged to continue his education at Berwickshire High School due to his clear talent. He then undertook teacher training at the newly created Moray House School of Education in Edinburgh. From there he won a place to study chemistry at the University of Edinburgh, graduating with a first class degree. In 1931 he rece ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Lankan Botanists
Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanese, Balinese, Sinhala, Thai, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Nepali, Malayalam, Kannada, Sanskrit, Pali, Khmer, and also among Philippine languages. It is usually transliterated as ''Sri'', ''Sree'', ''Shri'', Shiri, Shree, ''Si'', or ''Seri'' based on the local convention for transliteration. The term is used in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia as a polite form of address equivalent to the English "Mr." in written and spoken language, but also as a title of veneration for deities or as honorific title for local rulers. Shri is also another name for Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, while a ''yantra'' or a mystical diagram popularly used to worship her is called Shri Yantra. Etymology Monier-Williams Dictionary gives the meaning of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1887 Deaths
Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base. ** British emigrant ship ''Kapunda'' sinks after a collision off the coast of Brazil, killing 303 with only 16 survivors. * January 21 ** The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is formed in the United States. ** Brisbane receives a one-day rainfall of (a record for any Australian capital city). * January 24 – Battle of Dogali: Abyssinian troops defeat the Italians. * January 28 ** In a snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, the largest snowflakes on record are reported. They are wide and thick. ** Construction work begins on the foundations of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. * February 2 – The first Groundhog Day is observed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. * February 4 – The Interstate Commerce Act ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1820 Births
Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short story ''God's Dice'' * ''Eighteen'' (film), a 2005 Canadian dramatic feature film * 18 (British Board of Film Classification), a film rating in the United Kingdom, also used in Ireland by the Irish Film Classification Office * 18 (''Dragon Ball''), a character in the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise * "Eighteen", a 2006 episode of the animated television series ''12 oz. Mouse'' Music Albums * ''18'' (Moby album), 2002 * ''18'' (Nana Kitade album), 2005 * '' 18...'', 2009 debut album by G.E.M. Songs * "18" (5 Seconds of Summer song), from their 2014 eponymous debut album * "18" (One Direction song), from their 2014 studio album ''Four'' * "18", by Anarbor from their 2013 studio album '' Burnout'' * "I'm Eighteen", by Alice Cooper commo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palmyra Palm
''Borassus'' (palmyra palm) is a genus of five species of fan palms, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Papua New Guinea. Description These massive palms can grow up to high and have robust trunks with distinct leaf scars; in some species the trunk develops a distinct swelling just below the crown, though for unknown reasons. The leaves are fan-shaped, long and with spines along the petiole margins (no spines in ''B. heineanus''). The leaf sheath has a distinct cleft at its base, through which the inflorescences appear; old leaf sheaths are retained on the trunk, but fall away with time. All ''Borassus'' palms are dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants; male flowers are less than long and in semi-circular clusters, sandwiched between leathery bracts in pendulous catkins; female flowers are wide, globe-shaped and solitary, sitting directly on the surface of the inflorescence axis. The fruits are wide, roughly spherical and each contain 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John MacGregor McCandlish
John MacGregor McCandlish WS FRSE (1821–1901) was a Scottish lawyer and actuary. He was the first president of the Faculty of Actuaries. Life He was born at 17 Minto Street in south Edinburgh on 12 January 1821 the son of William McCandlish of the Exchequer (1788-1872), Receiver General of Taxes for Scotland, and his wife, Felicite Leslie MacGregor (1794-1878). John was apprenticed to John Archibald Campbell, Commissioner at Law, at 2 Albyn Place in Edinburgh's New Town. In 1845 he became a Writer to the Signet (WS). He then became General Manager and Chief Actuary of the Scottish Union and National Insurance Company. In 1860 he lived at 18 Moray Place on the Moray Estate in Edinburgh. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1867. His proposer was David Smith. In 1887 he became the first president of the Faculty of Actuaries serving three years and then being succeeded by Spencer Campbell Thomson in 1890. He died at home, 27 Drumsheugh GardensEdin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David MacLagan
David Maclagan FRSE (8 February 1785 – 6 June 1865) was a prominent Scottish medical doctor and military surgeon, serving in the Napoleonic Wars. He served as President of both the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He served as Surgeon in Scotland to Queen Victoria. Life Maclagan was born in Edinburgh on 8 February 1785, the son of Robert MacClaggan (d.1785), surgeon, and Margaret Smeiton, his second wife. His father changed his name to Maclagan some time before David was born, to disassociate himself from various Jacobite connections. Maclagan trained as a doctor and surgeon at the University of Edinburgh, graduating with an MD in 1805. Too young to join the army as a surgeon, he travelled to London and studied and practiced at St George’s Hospital. He was admitted into the Royal College of Surgeons in 1807. From 1808 he served as a military surgeon with the 91st Regiment of Foot, serving during the Walcheren Campa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Society Of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established in 1783. , there are around 1,800 Fellows. The Society covers a broader selection of fields than the Royal Society of London, including literature and history. Fellowship includes people from a wide range of disciplines – science & technology, arts, humanities, medicine, social science, business, and public service. History At the start of the 18th century, Edinburgh's intellectual climate fostered many clubs and societies (see Scottish Enlightenment). Though there were several that treated the arts, sciences and medicine, the most prestigious was the Society for the Improvement of Medical Knowledge, commonly referred to as the Medical Society of Edinburgh, co-founded by the mathematician Colin Maclaurin in 1731. Maclaurin was unhappy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Entomologist
Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arachnids, myriapods, and crustaceans. This wider meaning may still be encountered in informal use. Like several of the other fields that are categorized within zoology, entomology is a taxon-based category; any form of scientific study in which there is a focus on insect-related inquiries is, by definition, entomology. Entomology therefore overlaps with a cross-section of topics as diverse as molecular genetics, behavior, neuroscience, biomechanics, biochemistry, systematics, physiology, developmental biology, ecology, morphology, and paleontology. Over 1.3 million insect species have been described, more than two-thirds of all known species. Some insect species date back to around 400 million years ago. They have many kinds of intera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cnemaspis Scalpensis
''Cnemaspis scalpensis'', commonly called Ferguson's day gecko or the rocky day gecko, is a species of diurnal gecko in the family Gekkonidae. The species is found only in Sri Lanka. Geographic range and habitat ''C. scalpensis'' is found in the Kandy valley in Sri Lanka, and more common in the dry zone, than the wet zone. Its preferred natural habitat is forest, but it has also been found in gardens with large trees. Localities include Gannoruwa, Gammaduwa, Palmadulla, Ritigala, and Kandy. Description The snout of ''C. scalpensis'' is short. The dorsal scales are smooth granules. The median subcaudals are enlarged. The ventrals are smooth. Preanal pores are absent, but femoral pores are present. The dorsum is brown or bluish-gray, with dense brown reticulations. The forehead and lips have light spots. The throat is dusted with brown, with 5-6 irregular cross bars of light spots. The rest of the venter is bright yellow. Ecology ''C. scalpensis'' is a diurnal an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aspidura Guentheri
''Aspidura guentheri'', commonly known as Günther's rough-sided snake,"''Aspidura guentheri'' FERGUSON 1876". The Reptile Database. Reptile-database.org. is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Sri Lanka. It is the smallest member of the genus ''Aspidura''. Etymology The specific name, ''guentheri'', is in honor of German-born British herpetologist Albert Günther.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Aspidura guentheri'', pp. 110-111). Geographic range ''A. guentheri'' is a burrowing snake restricted to the lowlands of Sri Lanka. Localities recorded include Ratnapura, Deniyaya, Yapitikanda, Kandilpana, Kosgama, Kalutara, and Balangoda at elevations of . Description The head of ''A. guentheri'' is indistinct from the neck, and the body is cylindrical. The dorsum is brown, mottled with dark brown. The forehead is dark, and a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
