Frederick Debell Bennett (1806 - 1859) was an English ship surgeon and biologist.
Born to a family of means in Devon, England. in 1806, he obtained his Licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries (L.S.A.) in 182, and his membership of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1829. Bennett first served as Assistant Surgeon on the hospital ship Grampus, which was moored on the Thames. Then in 1833, he joined the London whaleship Tuscan. From 1833-1836 he sailed round the globe on board the 'Tuscan'. The task of this journey was to study whales, lands and nature. He described several species, for example
Whalesucker
The whalesucker (''Remora australis'') is a species of remora in the family Echeneidae, so named because it attaches itself exclusively to cetaceans. It is found worldwide in tropical and warm waters; in the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic O ...
(''Remora australis''),
blue noddy
The blue noddy or ''hinaokū'' or ''manuohina'' (''Anous cerulea'') is a seabird in the family Laridae. It is also known as the blue-grey noddy.
It is found in American Samoa, the Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Island ...
and ''
Cheilopogon nigricans''. He was also a member of the Royal Geographical Society. After his return he practiced medicine in
Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
where he died in 1859 at the age of fifty-three.
[Druett, Joan, Rough Medicine: Surgeons at Sea in the Age of Sail. New York: Routledge, 2001, pp. 40-41; 213.]
Book
* Narrative of a Whaling Voyage Round the Globe, From the Year 1833 to 1836 (London, 1840)
References
External links
Explorers of the Pacific: European and American Discoveries in Polynesia. Frederick Debell Bennett
Taxon authorities
Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons
1806 births
1859 deaths
{{biologist-stub