Cuthbert John Skead, also known as "C. J. Skead", "Jack Skead" or "Skeado" (30 April 1912 – 28 May 2006), was a South African

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

and

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Early life

Born in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

, 30 April 1912, Skead initially attended

Grey High School Grey High School is a semi-private English speaking high school (grades 8 - 12) for boys situated in the suburb of Mill Park in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is one of the top sporting schools in the country, ...

, before completing his schooling at St Andrew's College in

Grahamstown Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London, Eastern Cape, East London. Makhanda is the lar ...

. His tertiary education was undertaken at

Reading University The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and Grootfontein Agricultural College back in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. For the next 17 years after completing his tertiary education, Skead farmed in the Grahamstown district. It was during his farming career that he started observing birds in the vicinity which led to his first publication appearing in the journal

Ostrich (journal) ''Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology'' is a journal of African ornithology published by BirdLife South Africa, formerly the South African Ornithological Society, in association with the National Inquiry Services Centre (NISC) and Taylor & F ...

in 1943. In 1949, Skead took up the position of Director at the

Kaffrarian Museum The Amathole Museum, formerly the Kaffrarian Museum is a natural and cultural history museum located in King William's Town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The museum houses the second largest collection of mammals in South Africa ...

(now the

Amathole Museum The Amathole Museum, formerly the Kaffrarian Museum is a natural and cultural history museum located in King William's Town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The museum houses the second largest collection of mammals in South Africa ...

). He also served as a research officer for the Percy FitzPatrick Institute, a research institute associated with the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

from 1961 to 1966, after which he returned to the museum where he remained until his retirement in 1972.

Legacy

Skead contributed to the scholarly knowledge through producing more than 100 journal articles and books, including ''Sunbirds of South Africa'', ''Canaries, seedeaters and buntings'', and ''Historical Incidence of the Larger Mammals''.

Honours

* 1966 Gill Memorial Medal from the

Southern African Ornithological Society BirdLife South Africa, formerly the South African Ornithological Society (SAOS), is the South African national partner organisation of BirdLife International. It has a membership of 5,000, many of whom belong to more than 32 affiliated bird club ...

* 1977 Gold Medal from the

Zoological Society of Southern Africa 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 kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and dis ...

* 1982 Honorary Doctorate from

Rhodes University Rhodes University is a public university, public research university located in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, ...

* 2002 Gold Medal from the Grassland Society * 2004 Honorary Doctorate from the

University of Port Elizabeth The University of Port Elizabeth (UPE) was a public university located in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. UPE was founded on 31 January 1964, by an act of parliament, and held its first academic year in 1965. It off ...

* 2005 Special Award from the Eastern Cape Government

References

External links

C. J. Skead Photograph collection

Selmar Schonland Herbarium - CJ Skead Collection
* Margaret Sandwith (2007
Publications by CJ Skead
Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology, 78:3, vii-x {{DEFAULTSORT:Skead, Cuthbert John 1912 births 2006 deaths People from Port Elizabeth White South African people South African ornithologists Alumni of the University of Reading 20th-century South African zoologists