Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

Frank Wall (21 April 1868 – 19 May 1950) was a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning " reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and r ...

who lived in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and

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 ...

Early life and education

Wall was born in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

(now

). His father,

George Wall George Wall (20 February 1885 – June 1962) was an English association football, footballer. Career Born in The Boldons, Boldon Colliery, County Durham, Wall started his career with Boldon Royal Rovers and played for Whitburn and Jarrow F.C ...

, was responsible for initiating the study of natural history on the island. Wall was sent to England to be educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...

, the same school his father and brothers attended, and studied medicine in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

before joining the

Indian Medical Service The Indian Medical Service (IMS) was a military medical service in British India, which also had some civilian functions. It served during the two World Wars, and remained in existence until the independence of India in 1947. Many of its officer ...

in 1893.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Wall", p. 279).

Herpetology

Sent to

under the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi language, Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Q ...

, Wall continued to work there until 1925 and researched many animals, especially

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

s. He collected numerous snakes, many of which are now in the collections of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

and 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 ...

. Wall was a member of the

Bombay Natural History Society The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants and pub ...

and published more than 200 scientific articles, as well as the book ''A Popular Treatise on the Common Indian Snakes''. He described approximately 30 new species of snakes. In 1913, the third edition of his book, ''The poisonous Terrestrial Snakes of our British Indian Dominions, Including Ceylon, and How to Recognise Them; With Symptoms of Snake Poisoning and Treatment'', was published. He was the brother of

Arnold Wall Arnold Wall (15 November 1869 – 29 March 1966) was a New Zealand university professor, philologist, poet, mountaineer, botanist, writer and radio broadcaster. Early life and education He was born in Nuwara Eliya, Ceylon in 1869; his fa ...

and Rowena Wall, later Rowena Seymour, Duchess of Somerset, and the uncle of

Evelyn Seymour, 17th Duke of Somerset Evelyn Francis Edward Seymour, 17th Duke of Somerset (1 May 1882 – 26 April 1954) was a British Army officer, landowner, peer, and for eight years Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire. He was also a baronet. Between 1 May 1882 and 5 May 1931, h ...

. Frank Wall died in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

on 19 May 1950.

Legacy

Wall is commemorated in the scientific names of five reptiles: '' Boiga ochracea walli'', '' Bungarus sindanus walli'', '' Cyrtodactylus walli'', '' Hypnale walli'', and '' Lycodon rufozonatus walli''. Along with Malcolm Arthur Smith, Wall is acknowledged as one of the two most important pioneers in the study of Indian herpetology. Since Wall's death, some of his books, including ''Ophidia Taprobanica'' or ''The Snakes of Ceylon'', have been republished.

Bibliography

* ''A Popular Treatise on the Common Indian Snakes'' (Bombay: 1900) * ''The Poisonous Terrestrial Snakes of Our British Indian Dominions Including Ceylon and how to Recognise Them: With Symptoms of Snake Poisoning and Treatment'' (Bombay: 1917) * ''A Monograph of the Sea Snakes'' (London: 1919) * ''Notes on Some Ceylon Snakes'' (Bombay: 1921) * ''Ophidia Taprobanica: Or, The Snakes of Ceylon'' (London: 1921)

References

External links

*Wall, Frank (1921)
''Ophidia Taprobanica or the Snakes of Ceylon''
Colombo, Ceylon ri Lanka Colombo Museum. (H.R. Cottle, Government Printer). xxii + 581 pp. *Wall, Frank (1900)
"A Popular Treatise on the Common Indian Snakes"
Reprinted from the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 1868 births 1950 deaths People educated at Harrow School British zoologists 20th-century Sri Lankan physicians British herpetologists Indian Medical Service officers Sri Lankan people of English descent Wall family Members of the Bombay Natural History Society {{UK-zoologist-stub