Major Gerald Edwin Hamilton Barrett-Hamilton (1871 – 17 January 1914) was a British/Irish natural historian, co-author with M. A. C. Hinton of ''A History of British Mammals'', which remained "the most thorough, accurate and scientific publication" on British mammals until the 1950s.
Biography
Barrett-Hamilton was born in India of Irish parents, who returned and settled at Kilmanock in County Wexford when the boy was three years old. He was educated at Harrow and
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
, spending summer holidays botanising at home under the encouragement of
Alexander Goodman More
Alexander Goodman More (5 September 1830 – 22 March 1895) was a British naturalist.
Life
Born in London, More was educated at Rugby School, and matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1850. He did not graduate, however, though he rema ...
. From 1887 to 1908 Barrett-Hamilton contributed papers on Wexford papers to the ''
Journal of Botany, British and Foreign
''Journal of Botany, British and Foreign'' is a monthly journal that was published from 1863 to 1942, and founded by Berthold Carl Seemann
Berthold Carl Seemann (25 February 1825, in Hanover, Germany – 10 October 1871, in Nicaragua, Centra ...
'' and to ''
The Irish Naturalist
''The Irish Naturalist'' was a scientific journal that was published in Dublin, Ireland, from April 1892 until December 1924.
History
The journal owed its establishment to the efforts of several leading Dublin naturalists, notably George H ...
''. He held a commission in the 5th (
Militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
) Battalion of the
Royal Irish Rifles
The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal County D ...
, where he was appointed captain on 3 March 1897. Following the outbreak of the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...
, he was appointed Instructor of Musketry on 28 February 1900, and saw active service in South Africa 1901–1902. After the war ended in June 1902, he left Cape Town in the SS ''Dunera'' in late September 1902, arriving at Southampton early the following month. He was
High Sheriff of Wexford
The High Sheriff of Wexford was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Wexford, Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Irish Free State and replaced by the office of Wexford County Sherif ...
in 1904 and later worked in the
Natural History Museum
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
, London, and worked on various Government investigations. He married Maud Charlotte Eland, of Ireland. They had six children.
In his work as a natural historian, he described a great number of new species of small mammal on the islands around the British Isles, notably the house mice and field mice of St. Kilda which he called ''Mus muralis'' and ''Mus hirtensis'', believing that these had evolved ''in situ'' having colonised the islands naturally via land or ice-bridges. Although this has been demonstrated to be wrong, and many of his described species are now regarded as island forms rather than species in their own right, his contribution to natural history was enormous. He was a valued contributor to the Irish Naturalist journal. His papers and correspondence are held at the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.South Georgia Island in the South Antarctic whilst leading a British Government investigation into the whale and seal fisheries there.
Michael Nesbitt (Barrett-Hamilton's grandson) had a copper plaque made with Barrett-Hamilton's photo engraved and sent it to the Norwegian Anglican Church in Grytvike, to be hung with prior permission from the South Georgia Trust.
Works
*'On a collection of mice (Mus hirtensis and M. muralis) from St Kilda', ''Annals of Scottish Natural History'', 57 (1906), 1–4.
*''A History of British Mammals'', part completed to vol 21, 1910–1921