Joseph Pearson

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FLS (19 April 1881 – 20 June 1971) was a British-born zoologist and marine biologist associated with

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. Pearson's long-clawed shrew (''

Solisorex pearsoni Pearson's long-clawed shrew (''Solisorex pearsoni'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is the only species within the genus ''Solisorex''. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests ...

'') is named after him.

Life

Pearson was born in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

on 19 April 1881, the son of Daniel Pearson and Cecilia Parr. He was educated at

Liverpool College Liverpool College is a school in Mossley Hill, Liverpool, England. It was one of the thirteen founding members of the Headmasters' Conference (HMC). History Liverpool College was the first of many public schools founded in the Victorian E ...

and later studied Natural History at

Liverpool University , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

graduating BSc in 1902, and then doing postgraduate studies at

Manchester University , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

.''Who Was Who'', Published by A&C Black Limited. Online edition, 2020 In 1910 Pearson went to

(now known as Sri Lanka) as Marine Biologist to the Ceylon Government and as Director of the Colombo Museum. In 1914 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were Sir

William Abbott Herdman Sir William Abbott Herdman FRS FRSE FLS (5 September 1858, Edinburgh – 21 July 1924) was a Scottish marine zoologist and oceanographer. His zoological author abbreviation is Herdman. Life He was born in Edinburgh the son of the artist ...

James Hartley Ashworth James Hartley Ashworth FRS FRSE DSc SZS (2 May 1874 – 4 February 1936) was a British marine zoologist. Life See He was born on 2, May 1874, in Accrington in Lancashire, the only son of James Ashworth. He spent most of his early life in Bu ...

James Cossar Ewart James Cossar Ewart FRS FRSE (26 November 1851 – 31 December 1933) was a Scottish zoologist. He performed breeding experiments with horses and zebras which disproved earlier theories of heredity. Life Ewart was born in Penicuik, Midlo ...

, and

William Spiers Bruce William Speirs Bruce (1 August 1867 – 28 October 1921) was a British Natural history, naturalist, polar region, polar scientist and Oceanography, oceanographer who organized and led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE, 1902–04) ...

. In the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he served in France. In 1933 Pearson moved to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

as Director of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was employed as a camouflage expert by the Australian government. Pearson died in Tasmania on 20 June 1971.

Family

Pearson married twice, first to Lillia McConnell (d.1941) then to Mavis Meadowcroft (d.1961).

Publications

*''Marine Biology in Ceylon'' (1928)

References

1881 births 1971 deaths Scientists from Yorkshire 20th-century British zoologists Alumni of the University of Liverpool Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh British expatriates in Sri Lanka People educated at Liverpool College 20th-century Australian zoologists British emigrants to Australia {{UK-zoologist-stub