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Sir John Kirk, (19 December 1832 – 15 January 1922) was a physician, naturalist, companion to explorer
David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of ...
, and British administrator in
Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...
, where he was instrumental in ending the slave trade in that country, with the aid of his political assistant, Ali bin Saleh bin Nasser Al-Shaibani.


Early life and education

He was born on 19 December 1832 in Barry, Angus, near
Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. T ...
,
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, and earned his medical degree from the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in ...
, presenting his thesis '''On functional disease of the heart.


Family

Kirk's daughter, Helen, married Major-General Henry Brooke Hagstromer Wright CB CMG, the brother of the famous
bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology -- a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learning about bacteria, as ...
and immunologist, Sir Almroth Edward Wright and of Sir
Charles Theodore Hagberg Wright Sir Charles Theodore Hagberg Wright, LL.D. (17 November 1862, Middleton Tyas, Yorkshire – 7 March 1940 in London) was the Secretary and Librarian of the London Library from 1893 until his death. He managed expansion of the library and compi ...
, Secretary and Librarian of
London Library The London Library is an independent lending library in London, established in 1841. It was founded on the initiative of Thomas Carlyle, who was dissatisfied with some of the policies at the British Museum Library. It is located at 14 St James ...
. Kirk's son Colonel John William Carnegie Kirk was author of ''A British Garden Flora''. The engineer, Alexander Carnegie Kirk, was John Kirk's elder brother.


Career


Explorer

From 1858 to 1864, John Kirk, accompanied by his assistant Ali bin Saleh bin Nasser Al-Shaibani, an Omani-born historian who lived in Zanzibar, worked with Dr
David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of ...
on the Second
Zambezi The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than ...
Expedition as a botanist. This visit later encouraged his work to end the
East African slave trade The Indian Ocean slave trade, sometimes known as the East African slave trade or Arab slave trade, was multi-directional slave trade and has changed over time. Africans were sent as slaves to the Middle East, to Indian Ocean islands (including Ma ...
, assisted by Al-Shaibani. In this trip, they visited the Zomba Plateau and
Lake Chilwa Lake Chilwa is the second-largest lake in Malawi after Lake Malawi. It is in eastern Zomba District, near the border with Mozambique. Approximately 60 km long and 40 km wide, the lake is surrounded by extensive wetlands. There is an isla ...
in present-day Malawi, and in September 1859 he and Al-Shaibani accompanied Livingstone up the
Shire River The Shire is the largest river in Malawi. It is the only outlet of Lake Malawi and flows into the Zambezi River in Mozambique. Its length is . The upper Shire River issues from Lake Malawi and runs approximately before it enters shallow Lake Ma ...
to Lake Malawi, which they explored by boat. Kirk found Livingstone an inept leader and in 1862 wrote ''I can come to no other conclusion than that Dr. Livingstone is out of his mind and a most unsafe leader''". The Kirk Range, which lies west of the
Shire River The Shire is the largest river in Malawi. It is the only outlet of Lake Malawi and flows into the Zambezi River in Mozambique. Its length is . The upper Shire River issues from Lake Malawi and runs approximately before it enters shallow Lake Ma ...
and forms part of the Malawi-Mozambique border, is named after Kirk. In 1866, Livingstone began his next and final expedition, to find the source of the
Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...
, from
Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...
. From Livingstone's subsequent correspondence during the expedition it seems that Kirk remained in Zanzibar and did not continue with the rest of the party. After Livingstone's death in 1873, Kirk and Al-Shaibani pledged to continue his work to end the East African slave trade.


Visit to Somali lands

Kirk arrived in southern
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
in 1873 during a period of great economic prosperity with the region being dominated by the
Geledi Sultanate The Sultanate of the Geledi ( so, Saldanadda Geledi, ar, سلطنة غلدي) also known as the Gobroon Dynasty Somali Sultanate: The Geledi City-state Over 150 Years - Virginia Luling (2002) Page 229 was a Somali kingdom that ruled parts of th ...
and the
Hiraab Imamate The Hiraab Imamate ( so, Saldanadda Hiraab) also known as the Yacquubi Dynasty was a Somali people, Somali kingdom that ruled parts of the Horn of Africa during the late 17th century and 19th century until it was incorporated into Italian Somalila ...
. Trade between the ports of
Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Oc ...
,
Merca Merca ( so, Marka, Maay: ''Marky'', ar, مركة) is a historic port city in the southern Lower Shebelle province of Somalia. It is located approximately to the southwest of the nation's capital Mogadishu. Merca is the traditional home territo ...
and the interior
Geledi Sultanate The Sultanate of the Geledi ( so, Saldanadda Geledi, ar, سلطنة غلدي) also known as the Gobroon Dynasty Somali Sultanate: The Geledi City-state Over 150 Years - Virginia Luling (2002) Page 229 was a Somali kingdom that ruled parts of th ...
flourished during Geledi Sultan Ahmed Yusuf's reign. Kirk noted a variety of other things. Roughly 20 large dhows were docked in both Mogadishu and Merka respectively filled with grain produced from the farms of the Geledi in the interior. Kirk met the Hirab Imam Mahmood who reigned over Mogadishu. The Shabelle river itself was referred to as the 'Geledi river' by Kirk, perhaps in respect of the sheer volume of produce that the Sultanate output. In
Barawa Barawa ( so, Baraawe, Maay: ''Barawy'', ar, ﺑﺮﺍﻭة ''Barāwa''), also known as Barawe and Brava, is the capital of the South West State of Somalia.Pelizzari, Elisa. "Guerre civile et question de genre en Somalie. Les événements et leu ...
there was little grain instead a large quantity of ivory and skins which had already been loaded onto ships destined for
Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...
. He stated that Sultan Ahmed Yusuf controlled a vast territory stretching from
Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Oc ...
to the Jubba region and had 50,000 troops at his command.


Diplomat

From his appointment in 1865 the British Consul in
Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...
, Henry Adrian Churchill worked on the abolition of the slave trade on the island, however his heavy workload and the adverse climate took a toll on his health in 1869 and Kirk, who was his physician and Vice Consul, advised him to leave for London for the sake of his health. Churchill left in December 1870 leaving Kirk to undertake his duties as acting Consul. Kirk, together with his assistant, Ali bin Saleh Al-Shaibani, continued Churchill's work on the slave trade and in June 1873 he received simultaneous contradictory instructions from London on the Zanzibar slave trade, one to issue an ultimatum to Sultan Bargash, under threat of blockade that the slave trade should be stopped and the slave market closed, and the other not to enforce a blockade which might be taken as an act of war pushing Zanzibar towards French protection. Kirk only showed the first instruction to Barghash, who capitulated within two weeks. In August 1873 he was appointed British Consul in Zanzibar and in 1875 was also appointed Consul in the
Comoro Islands The Comoro Islands or Comoros (Shikomori ''Komori''; ar, جزر القمر , ''Juzur al-qamar''; french: Les Comores) form an archipelago of volcanic islands situated off the southeastern coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique and northwes ...
, and in 1881 was appointed Consul general in Zanzibar, and made Al-Shaibani as his political advisor with the task of smoothing out tensions between the British and the Sultan of Zanzibar. One of his Vice-Consuls, appointed in 1883, was Lieutenant Charles Stewart Smith, who had earlier served in the anti-slaving patrols launched from HMS London. For years he negotiated with Sultan Barghash, with the help of Al-Shaibany, gaining his confidence and promising to help enrich the East African domain through legitimate commerce. By 1885 the region was larger and more profitable. It is a role that Al-Shaibany proved to be crucial in aiding the British to reach a settlement with Sultan Barghash to abolish slavery in Zanzibar. He was British
Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...
at the 1890 Slave Act Conference in Brussels.


Other interests


Photography

Kirk photographed many scenes and people during his travels in East Africa. Examples includ
"Hamed bin Muhammed, slave and ivory trader""Female retainers of Swahili household in gala dress"
an
"A panoramic view of Zanzibar"


Botany

He was a keen
botanist 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 w ...
throughout his life and published many papers from his findings in East Africa. He was highly regarded by successive directors of the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...
: William Hooker,
Joseph Dalton Hooker Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For twenty years he served as director of ...
and William Turner Thiselton-Dyer. He introduced a very distinct and pretty species of orchid to the United Kingdom, subsequently named '' Angraecum scottianum''.


Eponyms

'' Kirkia'' which is a genus of
plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae ex ...
in family
Kirkiaceae Kirkiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales. It comprises one (or two) genera, '' Kirkia'' (and '' Pleiokirkia'' now included in ''Kirkia''), totalling six species. These two genera were previously placed in family Simaroub ...
. It was previously placed in family
Simaroubaceae The Simaroubaceae are a small, mostly tropical, family in the order Sapindales. In recent decades, it has been subject to much taxonomic debate, with several small families being split off. A molecular phylogeny of the family was published in 20 ...
, but was transferred into Kirkiaceae, together with '' Pleiokirkia'', it was published by Oliv. in Hooker's Icon. Pl. vol.11 on page 26 in 1868. Also, '' Gossypioides kirkii'', a new species of cotton from East Tropical Africa
''Ochna kirkii''
an evergreen shrub, and '' Uapaca kirkiana'', a miombo woodland tree of southern Africa, were named after him.


Zoology

He studied the wildlife in East Africa and published many papers. He collected many birds from Zanzibar and East Africa. In 1892, he was credited with the third largest elephant tusk among animal trophy hunters. He collected many specimens of
Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...
fish on the Zambezi expedition.


Eponyms

According to sources, Kirk first drew zoologists' attention to the Zanzibar red colobus, which is also commonly known as Kirk's red colobus. This species, ''Procolobus kirkii'', which is endemic to Zanzibar, is named after him. Also, a species of African lizard, '' Agama kirkii'', is named in his honour, as is a species of African amphibian, Kirk's caecilian ('' Scolecomorphus kirkii'') and the fish Kirk's blenny (''Alticus kirkii''). The Lake Malawi
Cichlid Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted thi ...
fish '' Protomelas kirkii'' is named after Kirk.


Awards and decorations


Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, Third Class
1879
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, Second Class
1881 *
Patron's Medal The Royal Geographical Society's Gold Medal consists of two separate awards: the Founder's Medal 1830 and the Patron's Medal 1838. Together they form the most prestigious of the society's awards. They are given for "the encouragement and promoti ...
of the
Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
'' for unremitting services to Geography, as a naturalist, as second-in-command to Dr. Livingstone, and as H.M. Consul-General at Zanzibar,'' 1882
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, First Class
1886 * Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath


Death

He died on 15 January 1922 aged 89, and was buried in St. Nicholas' churchyard in
Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London. Sevenoaks is from Charing Cross, the traditio ...
, Kent, England.


Bibliography

*Kirk J (1864). "Account of the Zambezi District, in South Africa, with a Notice of Its Vegetable and Other Products". ''Transactions of the Botanical Society'' 8: 197–202. *Kirk J (1864-1865). "Ascent of the Rovuma". ''Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London'' 9: 284–288. *Kirk J (1865). "Dimorphism in the Flowers of ''Monochoria Vaginalis'' ". ''Journal of the Linnean Society: Botany'' 8: 147. *Kirk J (1859). "Extracts of a Letter of Dr. Kirk to Alex Kirk, Esq., Relating to the Livingstone Expedition". ''Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science''. pp. 185–186. *Kirk J (1864). "Hints to Travellers – Extracts from a Letter from John Kirk". ''Journal of the Royal Geographical Society'' 34: 290–292. *Kirk J (1865). "Letter Dated 28 February Replying to Dr. Peters". ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' 1865: 227. *Kirk J (1862). "Letter from Dr. John Kirk (of the Livingstone Expedition), Dated H.M. Ship Pioneer, River Shire, East Africa, 14 December 1861". ''Transactions of the Botanical Society'' 7: 389–392. *Kirk J (1859). "Letter from Dr. John Kirk, Physician and Naturalists to the Livingstone Expedition, Relative to the Country near Lake Shirwa, in Africa". ''Transactions of the Botanical Society'' 6: 317–321 + Plate VII. *Kirk J(1864). "Letter from John Kirk to Professor Balfour". ''Transactions of the Botanical Society'' 8: 110–111. *Kirk J (1864). "List of Mammalia Met with in Zambesia, East Tropical Africa". ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' 1864: 649–660. *Kirk J (1865). "Notes on the Gradient of the Zambesi, on the Level of Lake Nyassa, on the Murchison Rapids, and on Lake Shirwa". ''Journal of the Royal Geographical Society'' 35: 167–169. *Kirk J (1865). "Notes on Two Expeditions up the River Rovuma, East Africa". ''Journal of the Royal Geographical Society'' 35: 154–167. *Kirk J (1864). "On a Few Fossil Bones from the Alluvial Strata of the Zambesi Delta". ''Journal of the Royal Geographical Society'' 34: 199–201. *Kirk J (1867). "On a New Dye-Wood of the Genus '' Cudranea'', from Tropical Africa". ''Journal of the Linnean Society: Botany'' 9: 229–230. *Kirk J (1864). "On a New Genus of Liliaceæ from East Tropical Africa". ''Transactions of the Linnean Society'' 24: 497–499. *Kirk J (1866-1867). "On a New Harbour Opposite Zanzibar". ''Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London'' 11: 35–36. *Kirk J (1867). "On ''Musa Livingstoniana'', a New Banana from Tropical Africa". ''Journal of the Linnean Society: Botany'' 9: 128. *Kirk J (1865). "On the “Tsetse” Fly of Tropical Africa (''Glossina morsitans'', Westwood)". ''Journal of the Linnean Society: Zoology'' 8: 149–156. *Kirk J (1864). "On the Birds of the Zambezi Region of Eastern Tropical Africa". ''Ibis'' 6: 307–339. *Kirk J (1867). "On the Palms of East Tropical Africa". ''Journal of the Linnean Society: Botany'' 9: 230–235. *Kirk J (1861-1862). "Report on the Natural Products and Capabilities of the Shire and Lower Zambesi Valleys". ''Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London'' 6: 25–32. *Kirk J (1896). ''Report by Sir John Kirk on the Disturbances at Brass''. Great Britain: Colonial Office. *Waller, Horace (1874)
''The Last Journals of David Livingstone in Central Africa, from 1865 to his Death''. London: John Murray.


References


External links

*Anonymous (1908). "Sir John Kirk"
''Ibis Jubilee Supplement''.
pp. 195–196.


Further reading

*Foskett, Reginald, editor (1965). ''The Zambesi Journal and Letters of Dr. John Kirk, 1858–63''. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd. *Martelli, George (1970). ''Livingstone's River: A History of the Zambezi Expedition, 1858–1864''. London: Chatto & Windus. *Liebowitz, Daniel (1999). ''The Physician and the Slave Trade: John Kirk, the Livingstone Expeditions, and the Crusade against Slavery in East Africa.'' New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. *Ferguson, Niall (2003). ''Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World''. London: Penguin Books. pp. 156–158, 236–237, 239. *Dritsas, Lawrence (2005). "From Lake Nyassa to Philadelphia: A Geography of the Zambesi Expedition, 1858–64". ''British Journal for the History of Science'' 38 (1): 35–52. *Hazell, Alastair (2012). ''The Last Slave Market: Dr John Kirk and the Struggle to End the East African Slave Trade''. London: Constable.


External links


Interactive map showing specimens collected by Kirk on Livingston's Zambezi Expedition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, John 1832 births 1922 deaths Scottish naturalists Scottish explorers Explorers of Africa Fellows of the Royal Society 19th-century Scottish people 19th-century explorers 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Scottish civil servants People from Angus, Scotland Scottish botanists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath