William Robert Ogilvie-Grant (25 March 1863 – 26 July 1924) was a Scottish

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

Early life and education

A Hand-book to the Game-Birds - Chamba Moonal Pheasant

Grant born on 25 March 1863 as second son of Capt. Hon. George Henry Essex Ogilvie-Grant, of Easter Elchies, Craigellachie, Scotland, of the

42nd Highlanders The 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot was a Scottish infantry regiment in the British Army also known as the Black Watch. Originally titled Crawford's Highlanders or the Highland Regiment and numbered 43rd in the line, in 1748, on the disband ...

, sixth son of

Francis Ogilvy-Grant, 6th Earl of Seafield Francis William Ogilvy-Grant, 6th Earl of Seafield (6 March 1778 – 30 July 1853) was a Scottish nobleman, a Member of Parliament and is listed as the 25th Chief of The Clan Grant. The names Grant and Ogilvie The family of Grant of Grant, ...

, and daughter of

Sir William Gordon-Cumming, 2nd Baronet Sir William Gordon Gordon-Cumming, 2nd Baronet of Altyre and Gordonstoun FRSE (20 July 1787 – 25 November 1854), was a Scottish Member of Parliament. Gordon-Cumming was member of parliament (MP) for Elgin Burghs from 1831 to 1832. Life He wa ...

. Ogilvie-Grant was educated at

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, where he studied

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

and

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

. He also studied at

Cargilfield Preparatory School Cargilfield Preparatory School is a private co-educational prep school in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1873. It is a day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 3–13 and caters for approximately 300 pupils. It prepares pupils mai ...

Career

In 1882 he became an Assistant at the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

. He studied

ichthyology Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octob ...

under

Albert C. L. G. Günther Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

, and in 1885 he was put in temporary charge of the Ornithological Section under

Richard Bowdler Sharpe Richard Bowdler Sharpe (22 November 1847 – 25 December 1909) was an English zoologist and ornithologist who worked as curator of the bird collection at the British Museum of natural history. In the course of his career he published several mono ...

's visit to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He remained in that department, eventually becoming Curator of Birds from 1909 to 1918. He also succeeded Bowdler Sharpe as editor of the ''

Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club The ''Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club'' is an ornithological journal published by the British Ornithologists' Club (BOC). It is cited as ''Bull. B. O. C.'' Many descriptions of birds new to science have been published in the bulleti ...

'', a post he held from 1904 to 1914. Ogilvie-Grant made many collecting trips, especially to

Socotra Socotra or Soqotra (; ar, سُقُطْرَىٰ ; so, Suqadara) is an island of the Republic of Yemen in the Indian Ocean, under the ''de facto'' control of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, a secessionist participant in Yemen’s ...

and the

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

and

Canary islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

Taxon described by him

*See :Taxa named by William Robert Ogilvie-Grant

Taxon named in his honor

*Ogilvie-Grant is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of gecko, ''

Hemidactylus granti Grant's leaf-toed gecko (''Hemidactylus granti)'' is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to the island Socotra. Usually it can be found camouflaging at rocky areas such as cliffs and mountain peaks. Etym ...

'', which is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Socotra.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Grant, W.R.O.", p. 106). *The Banso double-spurred francolin bird ''Pternistis bicalcaratus ogilviegranti'' (Bannerman 1922) is named after him.

Personal life

Ogilvie-Grant married Maud Louisa, daughter of Admiral

Mark Robert Pechell Admiral Mark Robert Pechell (6 July 1830 – 9 July 1902) was a British Royal Navy officer who took part in the Baltic Expedition during the Crimean War 1854-55. Biography Pechell was the second son of the Rev. Horace Robert Pechell (1792-1882), ...

; they had a son and three daughters. His son

Mark Ogilvie-Grant Charles Randolph Mark Ogilvie-Grant (15 March 1905 – 13 February 1969) was a British diplomat and a botanist and one of the earliest members of the Bright Young Things. Despite his earliest frivolous past, he became a hero during the 1940–19 ...

was a diplomat and botanist.

References

Source

*Mullens and Swann - ''A Bibliography of British Ornithology''. 1863 births 1924 deaths Scottish ornithologists Employees of the Natural History Museum, London Scottish lepidopterists People educated at Cargilfield School People educated at Fettes College {{UK-ornithologist-stub