John Whitehead (30 June 1860 – 2 June 1899) was an English

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

, naturalist and professional collector of natural history specimens in Southeast Asia. He is the first documented person to reach the summit of

Mount Kinabalu Mount Kinabalu ( ms, Gunung Kinabalu, Dusun: ''Gayo Ngaran or Nulu Nabalu'') is the highest mountain in Borneo and Malaysia. With an elevation of , it is third-highest peak of an island on Earth, and 20th most prominent mountain in the worl ...

: this was in 1888, after annual attempts from 1885. Whitehead was born in Colney Hatch Lane,

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Fi ...

, Middlesex to Jeffery Whitehead, a stockbroker, and his wife Jane Ashton Tinker. After education at Elstree, Hertfordshire and the Edinburgh Institution he faced health problems and was sent to recuperate to

Engadin The Engadin or Engadine ( rm, ;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ...

e in Switzerland in 1881 and then to warm Corsica in 1882 where he discovered a bird new to science, the Corsican nuthatch. Whitehead travelled in Malacca, North Borneo,

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

, and

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in t ...

between 1885 and 1888, where he collected a number of

zoological specimens A zoological specimen is an animal or part of an animal preserved for scientific use. Various uses are: to verify the identity of a (species), to allow study, increase public knowledge of zoology. Zoological specimens are extremely diverse. Exampl ...

new to science, including 45 new species of bird such as

Whitehead's broadbill Whitehead's broadbill (''Calyptomena whiteheadi'') is a species of bird in the family Calyptomenidae. It is endemic to mountain ranges of north-central Borneo, where it mainly inhabits montane forests and forest edges at elevations of . It is ...

('' Calyptomena whiteheadi''), writing up his experiences in a book on his return. Between 1893 and 1896 he explored in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, again collecting many new species, including the

Philippine eagle The Philippine eagle (''Pithecophaga jefferyi''), also known as the monkey-eating eagle or great Philippine eagle, is a critically endangered species of eagle of the family Accipitridae which is endemic to forests in the Philippines. It has br ...

, the binomial name of which commemorates Whitehead's father Jeffery, who funded his expeditions. Several species are named after Whitehead: *

Whitehead's woolly bat Whitehead's woolly bat (''Kerivoula whiteheadi'') is a species of vesper bat in the family Vespertilionidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and offi ...

''Kerivoula whiteheadi'' * Harpy fruit bat ''Harpyionycteris whiteheadi'' *

Whitehead's spiny rat Whitehead's spiny rat (''Maxomys whiteheadi'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a coun ...

''Maxomys whiteheadi'' *

Luzon striped rat The Luzon striped rat (''Chrotomys whiteheadi'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forest The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is ...

''Chrotomys whiteheadi'' * Tufted pygmy squirrel ''Exilisciurus whiteheadi'' *

''Chrotomys whiteheadi'' * Whitehead's Borneo frog - '' Meristogenys whiteheadi'' * White-winged magpie ''Urocissa whiteheadi'' *

''Calyptomena whiteheadi'' * Whitehead's trogon ''Harpactes whiteheadi'' * Whitehead's spiderhunter ''Arachnothera juliae'' * Spotted Wood-owl ''Strix seloputo'', formerly ''Surnia whiteheadi'' *

Whitehead's swiftlet Whitehead's swiftlet (''Aerodramus whiteheadi'') is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is endemic to the Philippines. It is named after the British explorer John Whitehead (1860–1899) who collected natural history specimens in Borne ...

''Collocalia whiteheadi'' * Bornean stubtail ''Urosphena whiteheadi'' * Chestnut-faced babbler ''Zosterornis whiteheadi'' * Corsican nuthatch ''Sitta whiteheadi'' * Hainan silver pheasant ''Lophura nycthemera whiteheadi'' Whitehead intended to return to the Philippines in 1899, but was he was forced to alter his plans because of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

. He instead travelled to the island of

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

, where he died of fever at port of Hoihow (

Haikou Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the Ha ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitehead, John Explorers of Asia English explorers English entomologists British ornithologists 1860 births 1899 deaths Zoological collectors People from Middlesex