Henry Ogg Forbes

Henry Ogg Forbes LLD (30 January 1851 – 27 October 1932) was a Scottish explorer, ornithologist, and botanist. He also described a new species of spider, '' Thomisus decipiens''.

Biography

Forbes was the son of Rev Alexander Forbes M.A. (1821–1897),Ewing, William ''Annals of the Free Church'' and his wife Mary ''née'' Ogg (1820–1862), and was born at Drumblade, Huntly, Aberdeenshire.

Henry was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School, he then studied Medicine at the University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh, An eye injury forced him to abandon his studies and he did not graduate. From 1875 he began collecting scientific samples: firstly in Portugal and from 1878 to 1884 he made extensive collections in Indonesia.

Forbes was active primarily in the Moluccas, Sumatra and New Guinea. His unusual tasks there also included tracking down the murderers of Captain J. C. Craig on Joannet Island in his temporary capacity as a government agent. In 1887 he was appointed meteorological observer at Port Moresby in New Guinea and used this opportunity to attempt further exploration of the island interior. The map he made from these explorations was deemed "unreliable" and he was not paid for his efforts. Disgruntled he decided to return to Britain. However he made a major stay in New Zealand before achieving this.

He served as Director of the Canterbury Museum in New Zealand between 1890 and 1893, and eventually moved to Liverpool, England, where he served as a consulting Director of Museums there until his death.

Forbes coordinated and led the Liverpool and British Museums joint expedition to Socotra and Abd al Kuri, who died on an expedition to West Africa in 1883. They had been friends and classmate at the University of Edinburgh. Forbes is mentioned in '' A Short History of Nearly Everything'' by Bill Bryson.

He died in Selsey in Sussex on 27 October 1932.

Family

His older brother George Stuart Forbes (1849–1940) came to fame in the Indian Civil Service and was knighted for these services.

Henry married Annabella Keith in Batavia in 1882. Keith travelled extensively with her husband, assisting him with his collections and writing several books relating to their travels as well as contributing to scientific research, particularly on bird species.

Legacy

Henry Ogg Forbes is commemorated in the scientific names of three species of reptiles: '' Hemidactylus forbesii'', '' Oligodon forbesi'', and '' Sphenomorphus forbesi''.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Forbes, H. O.", pp. 91–92).

Gallery

File:Cucumber Tree (Dendrosicyos).jpg, Cucumber tree (''Dendrosicyos socotranus'') photograph by Forbes
File:Dragon's-Blood Tree.jpg, Dragon's blood tree (''Dracaena cinnabari'' ) photograph by Forbes
File:Frankincense and Adenium Trees.jpg, Frankincense and ''Adenium'' trees photograph by Forbes
File:Sokotran Cattle.jpg, Cattle in Socotra, based on a photograph by Henry Ogg Forbes published in ''The Natural History of Socotra and Abd-el-kuri''
File:Sultan's Guest House at Lahej.jpg, The guest house of the Sultan of Lahej, based on an 1898 photograph by Henry Ogg Forbes, from The ''Natural History of Socotra and Abd-el-kuri''
File:View of Southern Face of Gebel Saleh, Abd-el-Kuri.jpg, View of Southern Face of Gebel Saleh, Abd al Kuri

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