Ronald John Henry Kaulback (23 July 1909 – 2 October 1995) was a British explorer, botanist and geographer. He was the son of Colonel H. A. Kaulback and had a younger brother Roy (known as Bill). After studying at the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
and learning surveying at the Royal Geographical Society he accompanied
Frank Kingdon-Ward
Francis Kingdon-Ward, born Francis Kingdon Ward OBE, (6 November 1885 in Manchester – 8 April 1958) was an English botanist, explorer, plant collector and author. He published most of his books as Frank Kingdon-Ward and this hyphenated form ...
on an expedition to Tibet, setting sail from
Marseilles
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
on 29th January 1933 and arriving in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
on 15th February. For political reasons Kaulback was forbidden to continue on the second part of that journey. So he, Brooks Carrington and some others set out on a route by
Fort Hertz and Burma which included crossing the
Diphuk La and after travelling at the worst season reached Fort Hertz. He travelled in
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
,
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
and
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
. His account of his journey, ''Tibetan Trek'', was published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1934; in 1937 the 3rd edition was published.
Kaulback wrote in defence of the possible existence of the
Yeti, having seen what he took to be large footprints while attempting to locate the source of the
Salween River.
Legacy
Kaulbach is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of Asian pit viper, ''
Protobothrops kaulbacki
''Protobothrops kaulbacki'', commonly known as the Kaulback's lance-headed pitviper or Kaulback's lance-headed pit viper,Gumprecht A, Tillack F, Orlov NL, Captain A, Ryabov S (2004). ''Asian Pit vipers''. Berlin: Geitje Books. First Edition. 36 ...
''.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Kaulback", p. 138).]
References
External links
Portraits of Ronald Kaulbackat the
National Portrait Gallery (London)
The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...
.
Further biographical notesand a more detailed account of Kaulback's life and accomplishments.
(page contains links to other useful material)
1909 births
1995 deaths
British botanists
Cryptozoologists
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