James Johnston ffolliott Darling (December 1859 – April 1929) was an Irish trooper and naturalist.

Early life

James ffolliott Darling was born in December 1859 in

Blackrock, Dublin Blackrock () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, northwest of Dún Laoghaire. Location and access Blackrock covers a large but not precisely defined area, rising from sea level on the coast to at White's Cross on the N11 national primary road. ...

. His father was John Singleton Darling of Clonakilty, Manager of the National Bank of Ireland. James Darling studied to become a physician, though he failed his final examinations while studying at Trinity College Dublin.

Career

Darling emigrated to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, serving in the

Cape Mounted Riflemen The Cape Mounted Riflemen were South African military units. There were two separate successive regiments of that name. To distinguish them, some military historians describe the first as the "imperial" Cape Mounted Riflemen (originally the ' ...

from 1883 to 1886, after which he was a pharmacist in

Kimberley, Northern Cape Kimberley is the capital and largest city of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is located approximately 110 km east of the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The city has considerable historical significance due to it ...

. Next, he became an assayer in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

. He was granted a farm in

Mutare Mutare (formerly Umtali) is the most populous city in the province of Manicaland, and the third most populous city in Zimbabwe, having surpassed Gweru in the 2012 census, with an urban area, urban population of 224,802 and approximately 260,567 ...

in 1891, which was called Darlington Farm. From 1895 – 1896, he was a miner at claims along the Mazowe River. He was a lieutenant in the Salisbury Field Force, through which he participated in the Mazowe Patrol.

Later life and death

After his retirement, he returned to Ireland and became a gentleman farmer. He became a member of the Dublin Zoological Society and the

London Zoological Society The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

, and was involved in the

Shannon hydroelectric scheme The Shannon hydroelectric Scheme was a major development by the Irish Free State in the 1920s to harness the power of the River Shannon. Its product, the Ardnacrusha power plant, is a hydroelectric power station which is still producing power to ...

. He died at "Hoop Hill", his residence in Lurgan, in April 1929 at the age of 69.

Personal life

Darling was married to Hilda Maxwell, and the couple had two sons. After his death, she married the entomologist

Guy Anstruther Knox Marshall Sir Guy Anstruther Knox Marshall FRS (20 December 1871 in Amritsar, Punjab – 8 April 1959 in London), was an Indian-born British entomologist. He was an expert on African and oriental weevils.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (201 ...

in 1933.

Honors and awards

Darling was awarded the

British South Africa Company Medal The British South Africa Company Medal (1890–97). In 1896, Queen Victoria sanctioned the issue by the British South Africa Company of a medal to troops who had been engaged in the First Matabele War. In 1897, the award was extended to those en ...

with two clasps: Mashonaland 1890 and Rhodesia 1896. He was also awarded a medal for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897. He received the Jubilee Medal as one of twelve former members of the

Pioneer Column The Pioneer Column was a force raised by Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company in 1890 and used in his efforts to annex the territory of Mashonaland, later part of Zimbabwe (once Southern Rhodesia). Background Rhodes was anxious t ...

chosen out of 200 applicants to participate in the Queen's parade. Darling was also a naturalist and a scientific collector. He had several species named after him, including

Darling's horseshoe bat Darling's horseshoe bat (''Rhinolophus darlingi'') is a species of bat in the family Rhinolophidae found in Africa. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, caves and other subterranean habitats. Taxonomy Darling's horseshoe bat was described as a ...

(''Rhinolophus darlingi''), the

Mashona mole-rat The Mashona mole-rat (''Fukomys darlingi'') is a species of rodent in the family Bathyergidae. It is found in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland ...

(''Fukomys darlingi''), the frog ''

Amnirana darlingi ''Amnirana darlingi'', commonly known as Darling's golden-backed frog, is a species of frogs in the family Ranidae. It is found in eastern Angola, the Caprivi Strip of Namibia, extreme northern Botswana, extreme southern Democratic Republic of t ...

'', and the spider '' Solpugyla darlingii''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darling, James ffolliott Irish naturalists 1859 births 1929 deaths People from Blackrock, Dublin Zoological collectors