Henry Houghton Burton Bradley (4 November 1845 – 23 November 1918) was an Australian

arachnologist Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and harvestmen. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly, the study of sp ...

. He published papers on many types of spiders, in particular describing specimens found on the

Chevert Expedition of 1875 The ''Chevert'' expedition was a scientific expedition to collect natural history samples from New Guinea and the Torres Strait. It was led and financed by William John Macleay, the first president of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. ''Che ...

. Bradley corresponded with spider specialists in Europe and sent them collections. A lawyer by profession, he was a keen horticulturalist and president of the Board of Trustees at the

Australian Museum The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...

between 1913 and 1918. He was also the president of the Horticultural Society of New South Wales. Bradley was a member of the Royal Horticultural Society of Great Britain; he was the first treasurer of the

Linnean Society of New South Wales The Linnean Society of New South Wales promotes ''the Cultivation and Study of the Science of Natural History in all its Branches'' and was founded in Sydney, New South Wales (Australia) in 1874 and incorporated in 1884. History The Society succe ...

, a trustee of the Australian Museum for 40 years, and from 1913 to 1918 the Crown Trustee of that institution. Also interested in home defence, he was from its inception closely associated with the No. 9 Battery, Volunteer Garrison Artillery, rising to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. In 1874 (then a lieutenant) he visited England, and attended a course of artillery instruction at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

. Bradley lived in North Sydney, and collected a local

mouse spider ''Missulena'' is a genus of mygalomorph spiders in the family Actinopodidae. It was first described by Charles Walckenaer in 1805, and is a senior synonym of ''Eriodon''. ''M. tussulena'' is found in Chile, but the rest are indigenous to Austr ...

. Described by William Rainbow as ''

Missulena bradleyi ''Missulena bradleyi,'' also known as the eastern mouse spider, is a species of spider belonging to the family Actinopodidae. The spider is endemic to the eastern coast of Australia. William Joseph Rainbow described the eastern mouse spider in 19 ...

''. He remarked the "beautiful and strikingly marked" specimen as a "decided novelty". Rainbow named it in honour of its collector, whom he stated was the first collector of Australian spiders. According to

The Sydney Mail ''The Sydney Mail'' was an Australian magazine published weekly in Sydney. It was the weekly edition of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' newspaper and ran from 1860 to 1938. History ''The Sydney Mail'' was first published on 17 July 1860 by Joh ...

, Bradley was born in

Surry Hills Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is surroun ...

on 4 November 1845, and died at North Sydney on 23 November 1918. Mouse spider02

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Henry Houghton Burton 1845 births 1918 deaths Australian arachnologists Scientists from Sydney