Thomas Graves (1802 – 28 August 1856) was an officer of 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 ...

and naturalist who worked extensively as a surveyor in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

Life

Thomas Graves was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

in 1802 and entered the Navy in 1816. In 1827 he was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in HMS ''Adventure'', under the command of Philip Parker King surveying in South America, including the

Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural pass ...

. A survey of

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake in the island of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. It has a surface area of and supplies 40% of Northern Ireland's water. Its main inflows come ...

under the Right Honourable the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty followed and was prosecuted in 1831 to 1832.' Ligar, 1834 Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland – Parishes of County Antrim VII 1832 – 183

/ref> Hydrographic survey, Survey work in the Mediterranean began in 1836 when as lieutenant-commander he was given charge of his own ship, . His next Mediterranean command was in 1841 on HMS ''Beacon''.' John Knox Laughton, Spratt, Thomas Abel Brimage Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, Volume 53 s:Spratt, Thomas Abel Brimage (DNB00)

Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt (11 May 181112 March 1888) was an English vice-admiral, hydrographer, and geologist. Life Thomas Spratt was born at Woodway House, East Teignmouth, the eldest son of Commander James Spratt, RN, who was a hero of ...

was serving officer on both ships and on the ''Beacon'' he was joined by

Edward Forbes Edward Forbes FRS, FGS (12 February 1815 – 18 November 1854) was a Manx naturalist. In 1846, he proposed that the distributions of montane plants and animals had been compressed downslope, and some oceanic islands connected to the mainlan ...

and William Thompson.' William Thompson, 1856, '' The Natural History of Ireland'' Volume 4: Mammalia, reptiles and fishes. Also, invertebrata Henry G. Bohn, London

Early in 1841 his friend Captain Graves, of H.M. surveying ship, the Beacon, then laid up at Malta, paid a visit to Belfast. Acting in conformity with that devotion to science by which he had been ever distinguished. Captain Graves took measures to obtain from the Admiralty, for Mr. Edward Forbes—the late (alas ! that we should have to speak of him as the late) eminent Professor of Natural History in the University of Edinburgh—the honorary appointment of Naturalist to his vessel, then about to proceed to the Aegean. A survey of the Island of Candia was at that time in contemplation. On his arrival in Belfast, Captain Graves kindly invited Mr. Thompson to join the party, and succeeded in inducing him to do so, as a most welcome guest.' Robert Patterson, 1856, ''Memoir of the Late William Thompson, Esq., President of the Natural and Philosophical Society of Belfast in The Natural History of Ireland'' Volume 4: Mammalia, reptiles and fishes. Also, invertebrata Henry G. Bohn, London

Forbes converted every one on board, officers and men alike, into ardent naturalists. They

dredged Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

successfully at a greater depth (230 fathoms) than anyone had done before and Forbes later defined, in the Aegean, eight zones of depth characterised by peculiar assemblages of animals.''Founders of oceanography and their work; an introduction to the science of the sea'' New York, Longmans, Green & Co.; London, E. Arnold & Co

/ref>Forbes, E., 1844 ''Report on the Mollusca and Radiata of the Aegean Sea, and on their distribution, considered as bearing on geology''. Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science for 1843. pp. 129–19

/ref> Graves was also interested in ancient ruins, and some of the (more than a hundred) charts that resulted from his surveys were notable for showing illustrations of historic sites, some of which no longer exist. In 1849 he published a description of the Island of Skyros, based on his survey work. A view of the Harbour and Town of Çeşme, Turkey, Surveyed by Graves in 1837 (from Admiralty Chart No 1635)
After some months of surveying and dredging amongst the Isles of Greece, the ''Beacon'' was ordered to the coast of

Lycia Lycia (Lycian language, Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean ...

for the purpose of conveying to England the carved marbles and inscriptions found in the ruins of Xanthus by

Sir Charles Fellows Sir Charles Fellows (31 August 1799 – 8 November 1860) was a British archaeologist and explorer, known for his numerous expeditions in what is present-day Turkey. Biography Charles Fellows was born at High Pavement, Nottingham on 31 August ...

. His next tour of duty was as captain of HMS ''Ceylon'' between 1846 and 1847, where he became reacquainted with Robert Templeton and then he returned to the Mediterranean as captain of . In 1853 he was made Superintendent of Ports at

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. Graves died in Malta on 28 August 1856, from a wound inflicted by a Maltese boatman. The boatman, Giuseppe Meli, was later tried for Graves's murder, and convicted on the lesser charge of "wilful severe bodily harm".

Species named to honour Graves

*''Pompilus gravesi'', in the order

Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order (biology), order of insects, comprising the sawfly, sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are Par ...

, described by

Alexander Henry Haliday Alexander Henry Haliday (1806–1870, also known as Enrico Alessandro Haliday, Alexis Heinrich Haliday, or simply Haliday) was an Irish entomologist. He is primarily known for his work on Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Thysanoptera, but worked on ...

. *''Trochus gravesi'', a

sea snail Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

, a synonym for

Jujubinus striatus ''Jujubinus striatus'', common name the grooved top shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Trochidae, the top snails. ;Subspecies: * ''Jujubinus striatus delpreteanus'' Sulliotti, 1889 * ''Jujubinus striatus ...

. *''Cascellius gravesi'', a

Beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

(Order: Coleoptera), named by John Curtis

Societies

Thomas Graves R.N. was a Member of the Belfast Natural History Society and an Associate

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graves, Thomas 1805 births 1856 deaths Scientists from Belfast Irish zoologists Royal Navy officers Military personnel from Belfast

Life

Species named to honour Graves

Societies

See also

References