Saville-Kent, W
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

William Saville-Kent (10 July 1845 – 11 October 1908) was an English
marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology clas ...
, naturalist, Commissioner and Inspector of Tasmanian Fisheries and author. He is perhaps best-known for his work in the development of the artificial pearl industry.


Early life

Born in the town of
Sidmouth Sidmouth () is a town on the English Channel in Devon, South West England, southeast of Exeter. With a population of 13,258 in 2021, it is a tourist resort and a gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. A large part of the town has ...
in Devon, South West England on 10 July 1845, William Saville-Kent was the son of Samuel Saville Kent (7 July 1800 – 5 February 1872) and Mary Ann Windus (b. 1808 – May 1852), who was Samuel's first wife. William was the youngest of ten children from his father's first marriage. Samuel was employed as a "Factory Commissioner" for the
Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...
, and inspected factories to ensure that they were properly implementing the worker safety measures regulated in the Factory Acts of 1833. As the acts sought to alleviate the harm done to children that were caused by unregulated working conditions in the factories, Samuel's “duties required him to inspect factories that employed women and children.” Despite having “ambitions for promotion,” Samuel “suffered from the effects of local gossip and disapproval,” as a consequence of him being a “known adulterer.” Samuel's salacious reputation caused the family to move fairly often. Saville-Kent's childhood was marred by several unfortunate events. First was the death of his mother, Mary Ann Windus, who died suddenly in May 1852. This was followed a few years later by the murder of his half-brother, Francis Saville-Kent, which led to national media coverage and great family upheaval; then, came the subsequent conviction of his elder sister,
Constance Constance may refer to: Places * Constance, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Constance, Minnesota, United States, an unincorporated community * Mount Constance, Washington State, United States * Lake Constance (disambiguat ...
, as a result of her confessing to the murder five years later. The
Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...
detective Inspector
Jack Whicher Detective Inspector Jonathan Whicher (1 October 1814 – 29 June 1881) was an English police detective. He was one of the original eight members of London's newly formed Detective Branch, which was established at Scotland Yard in 1842.
—who was responsible for the murder investigation of Saville-Kent's half-brother—had also suspected that William was an
accomplice Aiding and abetting is a legal doctrine related to the guilt of someone who aids or abets (encourages, incites) another person in the commission of a crime (or in another's suicide). It exists in a number of different countries and generally al ...
, as Constance and William shared a close sibling relationship. Constance had initially been detained and questioned, but was released as a result of her high social status. However, no charges were ever made against William. Constance was sentenced to life in prison, which at the time was twenty years.


Education

Saville-Kent was educated at
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
, and then at the
Royal School of Mines The Royal School of Mines comprises the departments of Earth Science and Engineering, and Materials at Imperial College London. The Centre for Advanced Structural Ceramics and parts of the London Centre for Nanotechnology and Department of Bioe ...
under T. H. Huxley. He held various jobs in Britain, including at the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
from 1866 to 1872. In 1869, he became a member of the
Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity and organization devoted to the worldwide animal conservation, conservation of animals and their habitat conservation, habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zo ...
and in 1873 of the
Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collec ...
. In 1870, Saville-Kent received a grant from the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
to conduct a
dredging 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 d ...
survey off Portugal. He worked at the Brighton
Aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
(1872–1873), then at the Manchester Aquarium (1873–1876). He went on to work for various other aquariums, before returning to Brighton in 1879. Saville-Kent married in 1872, but his wife died three years later. He remarried in 1876.


Australia

On the recommendation of Huxley, in 1884 Saville-Kent became Inspector of
Fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...
in
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
. In 1889, he became Commissioner of Fisheries for
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, and in 1892, Commissioner of Fisheries for
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, a position he held until 1895. During this time he experimented with culturing pearls on
Thursday Island Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kalaw Lagaw Ya, Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately ...
; his experiments were successful, and modern-day spherical cultured pearls are primarily the result of discoveries he made. These discoveries were later patented by Dr.  Tokichi Nishikawa of Japan, who had heard of Saville-Kent's techniques. Later, Saville-Kent went on to chair the
Royal Society of Queensland The Royal Society of Queensland was formed in Queensland, Australia in 1884 from the Queensland Philosophical Society, Queensland's oldest scientific institution, with royal patronage granted in 1885. The aim of the Society is "Progressing scie ...
from 1889 to 1890. His book documentation of the
Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
was the pioneering publication, attracted worldwide attention, and was for decades the definitive work on this landform. His sister Constance had joined him in Australia in 1886, changing her name to Ruth Emilie Kaye and training as a nurse.


Fisheries

Saville-Kent was a pioneer of the concept of sustainable fisheries. While at the Brighton Aquarium he witnessed a lobster lay eggs and charted the growth and development of the offspring. His goal was to see lobster and other commercial species of fish farmed as a sustainable resource. Saville-Kent died in 1908, in Bournemouth. He is buried in All Saints' churchyard,
Milford on Sea Milford on Sea, often hyphenated, is a large coastal village and civil parish in the New Forest district, on the Hampshire coast, England. The parish had a population of 4,660 at the 2011 census and is centred about south of Lymington. Touri ...
,
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
.


Published works

* ''A Manual of the Infusoria'', 1880, 1881, 1882 (3 Vol.)
''The Great Barrier Reef''
1893
''The Naturalist in Australia''
1897 (a copy with better colour correction online at State Library of New South Wale
DSM/Q591.99/K


Notes


See also

* :Taxa named by William Saville-Kent


References


Saville-Kent, William (1845 - 1908)
- Australian Dictionary of Biography

- Bright Sparcs * *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saville-Kent, William English marine biologists Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Fellows of the Zoological Society of London 1845 births 1908 deaths Alumni of King's College London People from Sidmouth Protistologists Royal Society of Queensland English emigrants to colonial Australia