John White (c. 1756 – 20 February 1832) was an Irish surgeon and
botanical
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
collector. __NOTOC__
Biography
White was born in the
townland
A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...
of Drumaran, near
Belcoo
Belcoo ( ()Flanagan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 172. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. is a small village and townland in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, from Enniskillen. It is on the County Fermanagh/ County Cavan border besi ...
, in
County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...
in
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
, the northern province in Ireland, about 1756, and not, as stated in the ''
Dictionary of Australian Biography
The ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'', published in 1949, is a reference work by Percival Serle containing information on notable people associated with Australian history. With approximately a thousand entries, the book took more than ...
''
and the ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'',
in
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
, England. On 18 June 1778 John White qualified as a
surgeon's mate, first rate, following examination at the Company of Surgeons in London. He entered the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
on 26 June 1778 as surgeon's mate aboard . He was promoted surgeon in 1780, serving aboard until 1786 when
Sir Andrew Hamond recommended him as principal
naval surgeon
A naval surgeon, or less commonly ship's doctor, is the person responsible for the health of the ship's company aboard a warship. The term appears often in reference to Royal Navy's medical personnel during the Age of Sail.
Ancient uses
Speciali ...
for the voyage of the
First Fleet
The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...
to Australia.
In March 1787 White joined the First Fleet at
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
as surgeon for the convict transport ''
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
'', where he found that the convicts had been living for some time on salt meat, a bad preparation for a long voyage. He succeeded in obtaining supplies of fresh meat and vegetables for them, and arranged that they should be allowed up on deck in relays to obtain fresh air.
[ On arrival in Australia, White engaged one of the convicts, Thomas Barrett, to engrave a silver medallion to mark the occasion.] The medallion, or "Charlotte Medal
The Charlotte Medal is a silver medallion, in diameter, depicting the voyage of the convict transport ''Charlotte'', with the First Fleet, to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Its obverse depicts the ship and the reverse is inscribed with ...
", is displayed in Australia's National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United ...
.
In 1788 White was appointed Surgeon-General of New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
and organised a hospital for the new colony, somewhat hampered by a lack of medical supplies. He became interested in the native flora and fauna of the new land and investigated the potential of Australian plants for use as medicine. He observed the olfactory qualities of eucalyptus and distilled eucalyptus oil
Eucalyptus oil is the generic name for distilled oil from the leaf of ''Eucalyptus'', a genus of the plant family Myrtaceae native to Australia and cultivated worldwide. Eucalyptus oil has a history of wide application, as a pharmaceutical, ant ...
in 1788.
White wrote ''A Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales'' (1790), which described many Australian species for the first time. ''Journal'' had 65 copper-plate engravings of birds, animals and plants, many of which were based on the water colour paintings of Sarah Stone, and during the next five years was translated into German and French.[ It is believed (by his unnamed biographer) that Thomas William Parr was employed as a sketch artist by White to produce natural history drawings as a starting point for development and colouring by other artists. White was the first to describe ''Litoria caerulea'', a ]species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of frog endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to Australia and New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
, which has several common names, including "White's tree frog". In 1792, Thomas Watling
Thomas Watling (19 September 1762 – 1814?), was an early Australian painter and illustrator, notable for his natural history drawings and landscapes.
Early life and education
Born in Dumfries, Scotland, he was raised by his maiden aunt, Ma ...
a convict artist newly arrived to the colony was appointed by the government to assist John White in the production of copies of illustrations of various plants, insects and animals. A portrait of John White, a miniature on ivory, signed by Thomas Watling and dated "N.S.Wales 1792" was sold at auction in December 2006.
According to his journal, White severely disliked Australia, describing it as: "a country and place so forbidding and so hateful as only to merit execration and curses." He applied for leave of absence in 1792, and received it in 1794, sailing for England on 17 December 1794 and later travelled to Ireland. In 1796 he resigned his position when given the option of returning to Australia. Earlier in 1796, White was elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, and on 10 March 1797, the Senate of the University of St Andrews conferred the degree of Doctor of Medicine on him. White was a surgeon on HMS ''Royal William'', and for 20 years he was stationed first at Sheerness
Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...
from 1799 and then at Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...
from 1803. He retired on a half pension in 1820, and died in Worthing
Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...
, England in 1832.
Legacy
Sydney's White Bay is named in his honour.
John White is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of Australian lizard, ''Egernia whitii
White's skink (''Liopholis whitii)'', also known commonly as White's rock skink, is a species of lizard in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to Australia.
Etymology
The specific name, ''whitii'', is in honour of Irish surgeon and ...
''.[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("White, J.", p. 284).]
References
Further reading
*
*, also at Project Gutenberg Australia and the University of Sydney.
* Nelson, E.Charles. Dr John White FLS Surgeon-General of New South Wales: A Portrait by Thomas Watlinng. ''The Linnean'' 32(2)p. 21-22.
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, John
1756 births
1832 deaths
Irish surgeons
19th-century Irish botanists
18th-century Royal Navy personnel
19th-century Royal Navy personnel
Royal Navy Medical Service officers
First Fleet
18th-century Irish botanists