Sir Walter James Franklin Williamson (16 April 1867 – 19 November 1954) was a colonial British official who worked as a financial advisor to the Kingdom of Siam. He also took an interest in collecting stamps and studied the birds of the region, collecting specimens of natural history from

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. Several taxa have been described on the basis of his specimens and many commemorate him. He was for sometime editor of the ''Journal of the Natural History Society of Siam'' along with Malcolm Smith. Williamson was the son of James Franklin Williamson of the Indian Public Works Department. He studied at the City of London School and Clifton House School, Eastbourne after which he joined the Indian Civil Service serving as an accountant general for India from 1890 to 1900 and then as director of paper currency in Siam from 1900-1904. He then served as a financial advisor to the Siam Government from 1904 to 1925 and subsequently served in Estonia and for the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

. He was knighted in 1927. He married Marion Maria Winifred (21 October 1875 – 30 May 1945), daughter of Lancelot Crozier in 1894. He also wrote on the birds of the Bangkok region and published on some taxonomic nomenclature issues. Williamson collected birds from Thailand, also sending out collectors of eggs and skins to other parts including Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Narathiwat provinces. His wife is commemorated in '' Mirafra erythrocephala marionae''. He is commemorated in '' Mirafra javanica williamsoni'' , '' Micropternus brachyurus williamsoni'' , ''

Zosterops palpebrosus The Indian white-eye (''Zosterops palpebrosus''), formerly the Oriental white-eye, is a small passerine bird in the white-eye family. It is a resident breeder in open woodland on the Indian subcontinent. They forage in small groups, feeding on n ...

williamsoni'' , ''

Malacocincla abbotti Abbott's babbler (''Malacocincla abbotti'') is a species of bird in the family Pellorneidae. It is widely distributed along the Himalayas in South Asia and extending into the forests of Southeast Asia. They are short-tailed and stout birds which ...

williamsoni'' , ''

Ploceus manyar The streaked weaver (''Ploceus manyar'') is a species of weaver bird found in South Asia and South-east Asia in the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thail ...

williamsoni'' , ''

Muscicapa williamsoni The brown-streaked flycatcher (''Muscicapa williamsoni'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in southern Myanmar, southern Thailand, northern peninsular Malaysia, and northeast Borneo. Some authorities consider it to be ...

'' and '' Tragulus williamsoni'' . His entire collection was bequeathed to the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

. Williamson died in Kensington and is buried in Golders Green.

Publications

Williamson's publications on birds include: * * * * * * * * * * * * He also wrote a catalogue of postal stamps with a note on the Thai currency.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williamson, Walter James Franklin 1867 births 1954 deaths British naturalists British civil servants British expatriates in Thailand