Charles Oldham (16 April 1868 – 13 April 1942) was an English naturalist who was an expert on

ornithology 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 ...

and

malacology Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams, ...

. Oldham was born in

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, but grew up in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, where his father, Richard Oldham, was a merchant. He was educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

and followed a career with the Commercial Union Insurance Company first in Manchester and later in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

until retirement in 1927. He spent his spare time on his passion for natural history and was a well-regarded field naturalist. Throughout his life he contributed notes and articles to journals and he was co-author of ''The Birds of Cheshire'' (1900) and ''A Practical Handbook of British Birds'' (1919–1924). At various times he was vice-president of the

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

, the Ray Society, the

British Ornithologists' Union The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds ("ornithology") and around the world, in order to understand their biology and to aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry ...

(1936–38), the

British Ecological Society The British Ecological Society is a learned society in the field of ecology that was founded in 1913. It is the oldest ecological society in the world. The Society's original objective was "to promote and foster the study of Ecology in its widest ...

and the Malacological Society. He was secretary of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society (1909–19) and its president from 1920 to 1922. He also served on the council of the

Conchological Society The Conchological Society of Great Britain and Ireland is a British-based society concerned with the study of molluscs and their shells. It was founded in 1876, and is one of the oldest such societies in the world. It is a registered UK charity ( ...

, the

British Ornithologists’ Club The British Ornithologists' Club (BOC) aims to promote discussion between members and others interested in ornithology, and to facilitate the dissemination of scientific information concerned with ornithology. The BOC has a special interest in avi ...

and the

Freshwater Biological Association The Freshwater Biological Association (FBA) is an independent scientific organisation founded in 1929 in Cumbria by Felix Eugen Fritsch, William Harold Pearsall, Francis Balfour-Browne, and Robert Gurney among others. Whilst originally created to ...

. He was the first person to show evidence that

black-necked grebe The black-necked grebe or eared grebe (''Podiceps nigricollis'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds. It was described in 1831 by Christian Ludwig Brehm. There are currently three accepted subspecies, including the nominate subspecie ...

s breed in Britain. He co-wrote articles and books on ornithology with

Thomas Coward Thomas Alfred Coward (8 January 1867 – 29 January 1933), was an English ornithologist and an amateur astronomer. He wrote extensively on natural history, local history and Cheshire. Life He was born at 8 Higher Downs, Bowdon, Cheshire ( ...

, a former schoolmate. He died in Berkhamsted age 73.

Bibliography

* 1900 (with

): ''The Birds of Cheshire.'' (1900): Manchester : Sherratt & Hughes. . * 1910 (with Thomas Coward): ''The Mammals and Birds of Cheshire.'' (1910): London : Witherby & Co. . * 1920: contributions to: – ''A Practical Handbook of British Birds'', vol. I. (ed.) 1920: London: Witherby & Co.
digital edition
in BHL. * 1924: contributions to: (ed.) – ''A Practical Handbook of British Birds'', vol. II. (ed.) 1924: London: H.F. & G. Witherby. .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oldham, Charles 1868 births 1942 deaths British naturalists British ornithological writers People educated at Manchester Grammar School People from Lincoln, England