Sir Charles Gibson Connell WS FRSE LLD FRZSS (11 March 1899 – 26 February 1985) was a Scottish advocate and ornithologist. He was founder and President of the

Scottish Wildlife Trust The Scottish Wildlife Trust is a registered charity dedicated to conserving the wildlife and natural environment of Scotland. Description The Scottish Wildlife Trust has well over 35,000 members. The Scottish Wildlife Trust acquired its first ...

Life

He was born in

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

at 13 Cameron Park, on 11 March 1899, the son of Mary Jane Gibson and Sir Isaac Connell SSC. He was educated at the Edinburgh Institution (now Stewart Melville's College). His training was interrupted by the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

during which he served in the Royal Field Artillery as a 2nd Lieutenant in Salonica 1917–1919. He qualified with a BL at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

in 1923 and was placed as a legal partner in his family firm of Connell & Connell. In 1936 he joined the Scottish Ornithologist Club, serving as their President from 1957 to 1960. In 1964 he co-founded the Scottish Wildlife Trust and served as their President. He was also Chairman of the Council for Nature. In 1965 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, his proposers included George Waterston. Connell was knighted in 1952. In 1976 the

University of Dundee , mottoeng = "My soul doth magnify the Lord" , established = 1967 – gained independent university status by Royal Charter1897 – Constituent college of the University of St Andrews1881 – University College , ...

awarded him an honorary doctorate (LLD). Charles Gibson Connell died on 26 February 1985 and is buried with his parents in

Newington Cemetery Newington Cemetery is a cemetery in Edinburgh, Scotland. Technically it lies beyond Newington itself, standing on an awkward elongated kite-shaped site between a railway line and Dalkeith Road, between Prestonfield and Peffermill. History ...

in southern Edinburgh, opposite his family home on Cameron Park.Black Markers: Edinburghs Dark History told through its Cemeteries, by Jan-Andrew Henderson The grave lies on the northern side of the main roundel opposite the entrance.

Publications

*''Connell on the Agriculture Holdings (Scotland) Acts''

Family

In 1927 he married Constance Margaret Weir (d.1976).

References

1899 births 1986 deaths People educated at Stewart's Melville College Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish ornithologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scientists from Edinburgh 20th-century British zoologists British Army personnel of World War I Royal Field Artillery officers {{Scotland-bio-stub