Alfred Hart Everett
Encyclopedia
Alfred Hart Everett was a British
civil servant
and administrator in Borneo
as well as being a naturalist
and natural history collector.
to British parents: George, the doctor at the penal colony, from Wiltshire, and Anna-Maria, from Jersey. In 1869 he went to Sarawak
in north-western Borneo
in order to collect natural history specimens. After two years there he entered the service of the Kingdom of Sarawak
, as a Resident
in the Baram
district, under the White Rajahs
. In 1878 and 1879 he was engaged by the Royal Society
and British Association to explore 'the Caves of Borneo' in search of the remains of ancient man. The explorations were made around Bau
and Niah
but were unsuccessful in their primary aim (although the orang utan jaw which later formed part of Piltdown Man
may well have been one result). In 1885 he was appointed the Rajah’s Consul
to the Court of the Sultan of Brunei
. He later served in North Borneo
in the administration of the British North Borneo Company.
In 1891 Everett became a member of the British Ornithologists' Union
. He never married. He died in London
.
and Walter Rothschild
, as well as others. He is best known for the collections
he made of bird
s and mammal
s in Borneo and the Philippines
. He is commemorated in the names of several animals, including:
Birds
Mammals
Frogs
Fish
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
civil servant
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
and administrator in Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
as well as being a naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
and natural history collector.
Career
Everett was born on Norfolk IslandNorfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
to British parents: George, the doctor at the penal colony, from Wiltshire, and Anna-Maria, from Jersey. In 1869 he went to Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
in north-western Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
in order to collect natural history specimens. After two years there he entered the service of the Kingdom of Sarawak
Kingdom of Sarawak
The Kingdom of Sarawak was a state in Borneo established by Sir James Brooke in 1842 by receiving independent kingdom status from the Sultanate of Brunei as a reward for helping fight piracy and insurgency...
, as a Resident
Resident (title)
A Resident, or in full Resident Minister, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indirect rule....
in the Baram
Baram River
The Baram river is a river in Sarawak, East Malaysia on the island of Borneo. The river originates in the central Iran Mountains and flows westwards through tropical rainforest to the South China Sea....
district, under the White Rajahs
White Rajahs
White Rajahs refers to a dynasty that founded and ruled the Kingdom of Sarawak from 1841 to 1946, namely the Brookes, who came originally from England. A Rajah is a monarch in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.-Rulers:...
. In 1878 and 1879 he was engaged by the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
and British Association to explore 'the Caves of Borneo' in search of the remains of ancient man. The explorations were made around Bau
Bau, Sarawak
Bau is a gold mining town in the Kuching Division of Sarawak, Malaysia. Smuggling with Kalimantan is also important to the local economy.-History:...
and Niah
Niah Caves
Niah Caves is located within the district of Miri in Sarawak, Malaysia. Part of Niah National Park, the main cave, Niah Great Cave, is located in Gunung Subis and is made up of several voluminous, high-ceilinged chambers...
but were unsuccessful in their primary aim (although the orang utan jaw which later formed part of Piltdown Man
Piltdown Man
The Piltdown Man was a hoax in which bone fragments were presented as the fossilised remains of a previously unknown early human. These fragments consisted of parts of a skull and jawbone, said to have been collected in 1912 from a gravel pit at Piltdown, East Sussex, England...
may well have been one result). In 1885 he was appointed the Rajah’s Consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
to the Court of the Sultan of Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
. He later served in North Borneo
North Borneo
North Borneo was a British protectorate under the sovereign North Borneo Chartered Company from 1882 to 1946. After the war it became a crown colony of Great Britain from 1946 to 1963, known in this time as British North Borneo. It is located on the northeastern end of the island of Borneo. It is...
in the administration of the British North Borneo Company.
In 1891 Everett became a member of the British Ornithologists' Union
British Ornithologists' Union
The British Ornithologists' Union aims to encourage the study of birds in Britain, Europe and elsewhere, in order to understand their biology and to aid their conservation....
. He never married. He died in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Zoological collecting
Everett collected for the Marquess of TweedaleArthur Hay, 9th Marquess of Tweeddale
Colonel Arthur Hay, 9th Marquess of Tweeddale , known before 1862 as Lord Arthur Hay and between 1862 and 1876 as Viscount Walden, was a Scottish soldier and ornithologist. He was born at Yester, Gifford, East Lothian. He served as a soldier in India and the Crimea. He succeeded his father to the...
and Walter Rothschild
Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild
Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild FRS , a scion of the Rothschild family, was a British banker, politician, and zoologist.-Biography:...
, as well as others. He is best known for the collections
Collection (museum)
A museum is distinguished by a collection of often unique objects that forms the core of its activities for exhibitions, education, research, etc. This differentiates it from an archive or library, where the contents may be more paper-based, replaceable and less exhibition oriented...
he made of bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s and mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s in Borneo and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. He is commemorated in the names of several animals, including:
Birds
- Bornean SpiderhunterBornean SpiderhunterThe Bornean Spiderhunter is a species of bird in the Nectariniidae family. The scientific name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett.-Distribution and habitat:...
(Arachnothera everetti) - Brown-backed FlowerpeckerBrown-backed FlowerpeckerThe Brown-backed Flowerpecker is a species of bird in the Dicaeidae family. The scientific name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett.-Distribution and habitat:...
(Dicaeum everetti) - Chestnut-crested YuhinaChestnut-crested YuhinaThe Chestnut-crested Yuhina is a species of bird in the Timaliidae family. The scientific name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett.-Distribution and habitat:...
(Staphida everetti) - Everett's ThrushEverett's ThrushEverett's Thrush is a species of bird in the Turdidae family. The name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett.-Distribution and habitat:...
(Zoothera everetti) - Everett's White-eyeEverett's White-eyeThe Everett's White-eye is a bird species in the disputed family Zosteropidae, which might belong with the Old World babblers . The name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett.-Distribution and habitat:It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia,...
(Zosterops everetti) - Russet-Capped TesiaRusset-capped TesiaThe Russet-Capped Tesia is a species of Old World warbler in the Cettiidae family. The scientific name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett.-References:...
(Tesia everetti) - Sumba ButtonquailSumba ButtonquailThe Sumba Buttonquail is a species of bird in the Turnicidae family. The scientific name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett.-Distribution and habitat:...
(Turnix everetti) - Sumba HornbillSumba HornbillThe Sumba Hornbill is a large bird in the Bucerotidae, or hornbill family. The scientific name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett.-Description:...
(Rhyticeros everetti) - White-tipped MonarchWhite-tipped MonarchThe White-tipped Monarch is a species of bird in the Monarchidae family. The scientific name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett.-Distribution and habitat:...
(Monarcha everetti) - Yellowish BulbulYellowish BulbulThe Yellowish Bulbul is a species of songbird in the Pycnonotidae family. The scientific name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett.-Distribution and habitat:...
(Ixos everetti)
Mammals
- Bornean Ferret-badger (Melogale everetti)
- Bornean Mountain Ground SquirrelBornean Mountain Ground SquirrelThe Bornean Mountain Ground Squirrel is a species of rodent in the Sciuridae family. The scientific name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett.-References:...
(Dremomys everetti) - Mindanao TreeshrewMindanao TreeshrewThe Mindanao Treeshrew , also called the Philippine tree shrew, is a species of treeshrew endemic to the Mindanao region in the Philippines. It is the only member of the genus Urogale...
(Urogale everetti) - Philippine Forest RatPhilippine Forest RatThe Philippine Forest Rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in the Philippines. The scientific name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett....
(Rattus everetti)
Frogs
- Everett's TreefrogEverett's TreefrogThe Everett's Treefrog or Everett's Timor Treefrog is a species of frog in the Hylidae family. The scientific name commemorates British colonial administrator and zoological collector Alfred Hart Everett....
(Litoria everetti)
Fish
- Clown BarbClown barbThe clown barb , or Everett's barb is a tropical freshwater fish belonging to the Cyprininae sub-family of the Cyprinidae family. It originates in inland waters in Asia, and is found in Borneo and Sumatra...
(Puntius everetti)