George William Vidal (23 September 1845 – 13 October 1907) was a British lawyer who worked in the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...

s in the

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

and contributed to natural history studies from the Konkan region, and was involved in popularizing the modern form of

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

in India and in establishing the formal rules of the game. He observed and collected bird and snake specimens and collaborated with other naturalists in the region. A couple of bird subspecies are named after him.

Biography

George William, the fifth son of Reverend Francis Vidal and the acclaimed novelist Mary Theresa, was born at

Torrington, Devon Great Torrington (often abbreviated to Torrington, though the villages of Little Torrington and Black Torrington are situated in the same region) is a market town in Devon, England. Parts of it are sited on high ground with steep drops down to ...

. Reverend Vidal was a

dominie Dominie ( Wiktionary definition) is a Scots language and Scottish English term for a Scottish schoolmaster usually of the Church of Scotland and also a term used in the US for a minister or pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church. Origin It comes fr ...

in Eton and later vicar of Sutton, Suffolk. Vidal went to

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

from 1854 to 1861, and was active in sports, winning the double sculls in 1860. He then became an

associate of King's College The Associateship or Associate of King's College (AKC) award was the degree-equivalent qualification of King's College London from 1833. It is the original qualification that King's awarded to its students. In current practice, it is an optional ...

and studied law with a thesis on "Law of Evidence and Notes on Cases Reported". He joined the

s after passing the exam in 1865, and reached India in October 1867 becoming assistant collector in Bombay. He was called to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1877. He served in a number of positions including forest settlement officer, member of the mixed commission, Goa (1880, 85), president of the Bombay Forest Commission (1885), collector and magistrate in the Panch Mahals, political agent for

Rewa Kantha Rewa Kantha was a political agency of British India, managing the relations (indirect rule) of the British government's Bombay Presidency with a collection of princely states. It stretched for about 150 miles between the plain of Gujarat and ...

, collector of salt revenue in Bombay (1888), chief secretary from 1895, and retired in 1897. On returning to England he was a member of the governing body of the Imperial Institute.

Badminton

Vidal introduced the game of badminton in the Bombay Presidency, playing the first ever game there in Satara on 10 July 1873. He was involved in the establishment of the formal rules of the game in Poona in 1875. After retiring from India, he joined the English Badminton Association becoming honorary secretary and treasurer from 1897, succeeding Major S. S. C. Dolby. This was followed by a period of rapid growth in the game. He won the All England Veteran Badminton Doubles Championships thrice.Lawn Tennis and Badminton, March 6, 1907. p. 584. He played in and helped organise the

1899 All England Badminton Championships The 1899 All England Championships was a badminton tournament held in the Scottish Drill Hall at the London Scottish Rifles Headquarters in Buckingham Gate, Westminster, London, England on 4 April 1899.http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/archive/ Th ...

which was the first edition of the event.

Natural history

Vidal was a keen naturalist, an amateur photographer, a talented guitarist, singer, and a motorcar enthusiast. He contributed numerous notes on the birds of the

Konkan The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...

region to

Allan Octavian Hume Allan Octavian Hume, CB ICS (4 June 1829 – 31 July 1912) was a British civil servant, political reformer, ornithologist and botanist who worked in British India. He was the founder of the Indian National Congress. A notable ornithologist, Hum ...

's journal ''Stray Feathers''. He collected specimens of birds which were sent to Hume and a few subspecies have been named after him including ''

Perdicula asiatica The jungle bush quail (''Perdicula asiatica'') is a species of quail in the family Phasianidae. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, where it is found in peninsular India and Sri Lanka. It has also been reported from Nepal but has not been se ...

vidali'' and '' Todiramphus chloris vidali''. He later contributed to the ''

Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society The ''Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society'' (also ''JBNHS'') is a natural history journal published several times a year by the Bombay Natural History Society. First published in January 1886, and published with only a few interruptio ...

''. He was a fellow of the Zoological Society of London from 1897.

Personal life

Vidal married Cecilia Palmer (died 1933) daughter of Lt. William Chapman, Bombay Engineers, on 2 January 1871 in Ratnagiri. They had two daughters Norah (1872-1939) and Winifred and a son Hugh. Norah Frances married Brig-Gen. Robert Mitchell Betham (2 May 1864 – 14 March 1940) who was also a keen ornithologist who was influenced in his boyhood by Vidal. Winifred married Henry Oliphant Selby on September 13, 1898. Vidal died at "Torrington", West Hill, Sydenham and was buried in Elmer's End on 16 October 1907.

References

External links

Genealogy

''Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency'' (1883) - the Ratnagiri chapter was written by G. W. Vidal

Report of the Bombay Forest Commission. Volume 1. (1887) - committee headed by G.W. Vidal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vidal, George William Indian Civil Service (British India) officers 1845 births 1907 deaths Members of the Bombay Natural History Society