Alan Owston
Encyclopedia
Alan Owston was a collector of Asian wildlife, businessman and yachtsman, being also a founder of the Yokohama Yacht Club in Japan. The Owston's Civet or Owston's Palm Civet
Chrotogale owstoni is one of many species named owstoni after him.
He was born on August 7, 1853 at Pirbright, Surrey and died / was buried November 30, 1915 at Yokohama
in Japan. His portrait and grave can be found via the external links.
Alan Owston left England for Asia in 1871, working as a merchant in Japan and was also busy as an amateur naturalist.
Owston collected or arranged to have collected a wide range of marine specimens, notably fish from Japan and China, a collection once hailed "one of the most important collections of its kind". Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Pittsburgh has a collection of 1,364 of his Asian fishes. Some other animals named after him include the Trismegistus owstoni fish, a clam, a frog, and woodpecker.
His bird collection was also hailed for "the prodigious number of bird specimens".
His collections can be found in many museums today, notably the Smithsonian collection of his reptiles, birds and fish.
He is also noted for his deep-sea sponge collection at the Natural History Museum
, London which also has a charming Victorian photographic portrait of him from Japan with one of his giant sponges.
As a yachtsman and founder of Yokohama Yacht Club, he was reputed to own its fastest yacht, the Golden Hind. He was unusual as an Englishman working in Japan as it opened to western influnce and business interests, being buried in the foreigners' cemetery
in Yokohama.
Family Tree and history
His father Rev. Francis Owston was the Vicar at Pirbright, Surrey, England for 40 years, having received his MA degree from Cambridge during 1850 and married Alan's mother Eliza Stedman (daughter of Dr. James Stedman and Sarah Remington) on 16 Apr 1850 in St. Nicolas' Church, Guildford
, Surrey
, England.
Alan Owston had an older brother, Captain Francis Owston (born 27 Apr 1852 Pirbright, Surrey - died 27 Jan 1927 England, a sea captain working from England and also later a businessman in Japan) and a younger sister, Bertha Owston (24 Jun 1864 Pirbright, Surrey, England - 1952 Leavenheath, Suffolk, England).
Alan was married twice to Japanese women and had several children. More biographical information is given in the family tree section of the external links.
Civet
The family Viverridae is made up of around 30 species of medium-sized mammal, including all of the genets, the binturong, most of the civets, and the two African linsangs....
Chrotogale owstoni is one of many species named owstoni after him.
He was born on August 7, 1853 at Pirbright, Surrey and died / was buried November 30, 1915 at Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
in Japan. His portrait and grave can be found via the external links.
Alan Owston left England for Asia in 1871, working as a merchant in Japan and was also busy as an amateur naturalist.
Owston collected or arranged to have collected a wide range of marine specimens, notably fish from Japan and China, a collection once hailed "one of the most important collections of its kind". Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Carnegie Museum of Natural History, located at 4400 Forbes Avenue in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, was founded by the Pittsburgh-based industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1896...
Pittsburgh has a collection of 1,364 of his Asian fishes. Some other animals named after him include the Trismegistus owstoni fish, a clam, a frog, and woodpecker.
His bird collection was also hailed for "the prodigious number of bird specimens".
His collections can be found in many museums today, notably the Smithsonian collection of his reptiles, birds and fish.
He is also noted for his deep-sea sponge collection at the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
, London which also has a charming Victorian photographic portrait of him from Japan with one of his giant sponges.
As a yachtsman and founder of Yokohama Yacht Club, he was reputed to own its fastest yacht, the Golden Hind. He was unusual as an Englishman working in Japan as it opened to western influnce and business interests, being buried in the foreigners' cemetery
Foreign cemeteries in Japan
The foreign cemeteries in Japan are chiefly located in Tokyo and at the former treaty ports of Nagasaki, Kobe, Yokohama, and Hakodate. They contain the mortal remains of long-term Japan residents, and are separate from any of the military cemeteries.-Tokyo:The Tokyo foreign cemetery is a section...
in Yokohama.
Family Tree and history
His father Rev. Francis Owston was the Vicar at Pirbright, Surrey, England for 40 years, having received his MA degree from Cambridge during 1850 and married Alan's mother Eliza Stedman (daughter of Dr. James Stedman and Sarah Remington) on 16 Apr 1850 in St. Nicolas' Church, Guildford
St. Nicolas' Church, Guildford
St. Nicolas is an Anglican parish church in the centre of Guildford, England. It is one of the three ancient parishes of Guildford borough ....
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England.
Alan Owston had an older brother, Captain Francis Owston (born 27 Apr 1852 Pirbright, Surrey - died 27 Jan 1927 England, a sea captain working from England and also later a businessman in Japan) and a younger sister, Bertha Owston (24 Jun 1864 Pirbright, Surrey, England - 1952 Leavenheath, Suffolk, England).
Alan was married twice to Japanese women and had several children. More biographical information is given in the family tree section of the external links.
External links
- Owston's grave and portrait
- Family tree for Alan Owston along with a scan of an article by Boris Weintruab in the June 1998 issue of National Geographic magazine outlined his collecting and reputation.
- Details of the sponge and Owston portrait from the Natural History Museum collection (also listing his date of death as 1916).