Charles Chilton (27 September 1860 – 25 October 1929) was a New Zealand

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

, the first rector to be appointed in

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

, and the first person to be awarded a D.Sc. degree in New Zealand.

Biography

Chilton was born on 27 September 1860 at Little Marstone, Pencombe, son of Thomas Chilton, (near Leominster, Herefordshire, England) but emigrated with his family to New Zealand in 1862. They settled on a farm at East Eyreton, North Canterbury. He was troubled by his hips from an early age, and had his left leg amputated, using an artificial leg and a crutch thereafter. He entered Canterbury College in 1875 as an unmatriculated student, and matriculated three years later. In 1881, he gained a Master of Art with first class honours, having been taught by Frederick Hutton, who inspired him to take up biology, especially the study of

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

s, which had been little studied in New Zealand up to that time. Chilton's first scientific publication followed that same year, when he described three new species of crustacean (two crabs and one

isopod Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, an ...

) from

Lyttelton Harbour Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō is one of two major inlets in Banks Peninsula, on the coast of Canterbury, New Zealand; the other is Akaroa Harbour on the southern coast. It enters from the northern coast of the peninsula, heading in a pred ...

and Lake Pupuke. He surprised the scientific world later that year by describing four species of

amphipod Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far descr ...

and

from

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...

s at the family farm in Eyreton. He went on to discover the isopod '' Phreatoicus typicus'' in the same location, the first example ever described of the suborder Phreatoicidea, the "earliest derived isopod . Chilton gained the first BSc degree from the

University of New Zealand The University of New Zealand was New Zealand's sole degree-granting university from 1874 to 1961. It was a collegiate university embracing several constituent institutions at various locations around New Zealand. After it was dissolved in 196 ...

in 1887, and married Elizabeth Jack, whom he had met at Dunedin Training College, in 1888. In 1893, he gained the first D.Sc. awarded in New Zealand, but in 1895, the family moved to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, where Chilton studied medicine in an attempt to improve his career. He specialised in

ophthalmic surgery Eye surgery, also known as ophthalmic or ocular surgery, is surgery performed on the eye or its adnexa, by an ophthalmologist or sometimes, an optometrist. Eye surgery is synonymous with ophthalmology. The eye is a very fragile organ, and requ ...

, working at

The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, or RIE, often (but incorrectly) known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest v ...

, before travelling to study at

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, Vienna and London in 1900. In 1901, he returned to New Zealand and in 1903 took on the Chair of Biology at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

. From 1904 to 1911, the Chilton family lived at ''

Llanmaes Llanmaes ( cy, Llanfaes) is a small village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan near the market town of Llantwit Major. The population in 2011 was 403. Amenities Llanmaes has a long history, with remains of a Roman fort in fields next to ...

'', a house built by Francis Petre in central Christchurch. In 1907 Chilton was selected to be a member of the

1907 Sub-Antarctic Islands Scientific Expedition The Sub-Antarctic Islands Scientific Expedition of 1907 was organised by the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury. The main aim of the expedition was to extend the magnetic survey of New Zealand by investigating Campbell Island and the Aucklan ...

. The main aim of the expedition was to extend the magnetic survey of New Zealand by investigating Auckland and Campbell Islands but botanical, biological and zoological surveys were also conducted. The voyage also resulted in rescue of the castaways of the shipwreck the '' Dundonald'' in the Auckland Islands. Chilton was the editor of the subsequent scientific reports resulting from the expedition. Chilton was instrumental in establishing the Cass Field Station (formerly Canterbury College Mountain Biological Station), the building of which was completed in 1914. In 1915, Frank Chilton, the couple's only child, a second-year medical student and a lieutenant in the

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

, was killed in the Battle of Gallipoli. Charles Chilton became rector of Canterbury University College in 1921, the first time such a post had been granted in Australia or New Zealand. He was a member of the Board of Governors of Canterbury Agricultural College in Lincoln (now Lincoln University), and chairman of the board in 1927. Chilton died on 25 October 1929 of a sudden attack of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

, before he could collect his life's work into a single

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

. He had published 130 papers on crustaceans, mostly amphipods, isopods and decapods, from all around the world, but especially from New Zealand, subterranean and sub-Antarctic waters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chilton, Charles New Zealand carcinologists 1860 births 1929 deaths New Zealand amputees People from Herefordshire People from North Canterbury University of Otago alumni Academic staff of the University of Canterbury Alumni of the University of Edinburgh British emigrants to New Zealand Directors of museums in New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand zoologists 19th-century New Zealand zoologists Chancellors of Lincoln University (New Zealand) Scientists with disabilities

Biography

See also

References

External links