Charles Ottley Groom Napier
Encyclopedia
Charles Ottley Groom Napier also known as C. O. G Napier FGS
FLS
(1839 - 1894) was a natural historian, geologist
, mineral collector, as well a writer on vegetarianism
, ornithology
and an early proponent of British Israelism
. He was most well known for his eccentric claims of ancestry.
, the son of Charles Edward Groom, a very wealthy sugar planter, and his wife, Ann Napier. He later moved and grew up in Sussex
, England, and gained an early interest in natural history, obtaining a degree in geology. Later he became a prominent member of the Geological Society of London
and joined the
Linnean Society
as well as being a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society
.
.
He bought James Tennant's personal collection of fossils, which was later purchased by Robert Damon and sold to the Western Australian Museum
in Perth where it remains today. A large part of his herbarium is currently preserved in Bolton Museum
.
and Montferrat
with subsidiary titles as prince of Ferrera
, Nevers
, Rethel, and Alençon
; Baron de Tobago; and master of Lennox
, Kilmahew, and Merchiston
. He worked with the genealogist John O'Hart
(Irish pedigrees, 1876, Vol. 1, p. 582) and claimed that he could trace his ancestry to various European royal bloodlines or nobles through his mother Ann Napier. A further work was published in 1879 attempting to link his mother to the Duchess of Mantua and Montferrat in Italy and the Scottish Clan Napier
. Napier further claimed he could trace his ancestry back to King David. These claims however were dismissed as fabrications by most genealogists and his academic reputation was tarred by scientists since his mineral collection was registered in the name of "Ex. Mus. P[rince] of Mantua & Monferrat".
Napier however never retracted his claims of ancestry and when he died of long-standing cardiac disease on 17 January 1894 his death was registered as that of "Charles de Bourbon d'Este Paleologues Gonzaga, prince of Mantua and Montferrat".
and was a personal friend of British Israelite Edward Hine
.
Variations in the colour, form and size of the eggs of birds (1868)
Natural History Rambles: Lakes and Rivers (1879)
The book of nature and the book of man (1870)
Geological Society of London
The Geological Society of London is a learned society based in the United Kingdom with the aim of "investigating the mineral structure of the Earth"...
FLS
Linnean Society of London
The Linnean Society of London is the world's premier society for the study and dissemination of taxonomy and natural history. It publishes a zoological journal, as well as botanical and biological journals...
(1839 - 1894) was a natural historian, geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
, mineral collector, as well a writer on vegetarianism
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
, ornithology
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
and an early proponent of British Israelism
British Israelism
British Israelism is the belief that people of Western European descent, particularly those in Great Britain, are the direct lineal descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. The concept often includes the belief that the British Royal Family is directly descended from the line of King David...
. He was most well known for his eccentric claims of ancestry.
Early Life
Charles Ottley Groom Napier was born May 14, 1839 in Merchiston, TobagoTobago
Tobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada. The island lies outside the hurricane belt...
, the son of Charles Edward Groom, a very wealthy sugar planter, and his wife, Ann Napier. He later moved and grew up in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England, and gained an early interest in natural history, obtaining a degree in geology. Later he became a prominent member of the Geological Society of London
Geological Society of London
The Geological Society of London is a learned society based in the United Kingdom with the aim of "investigating the mineral structure of the Earth"...
and joined the
Linnean Society
Linnean Society of London
The Linnean Society of London is the world's premier society for the study and dissemination of taxonomy and natural history. It publishes a zoological journal, as well as botanical and biological journals...
as well as being a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society
Royal Statistical Society
The Royal Statistical Society is a learned society for statistics and a professional body for statisticians in the UK.-History:It was founded in 1834 as the Statistical Society of London , though a perhaps unrelated London Statistical Society was in existence at least as early as 1824...
.
Collector
As a prominent collector Napier acquired huge collections of minerals, plants and fossils. Many of these were later sold to the Natural History MuseumNatural 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...
.
He bought James Tennant's personal collection of fossils, which was later purchased by Robert Damon and sold to the Western Australian Museum
Western Australian Museum
The Western Australian Museum is the state museum for Western Australia.The Western Australian Museum has seven main sites: two in Perth within the Perth Cultural Centre, two in Fremantle , and one each in Albany, Geraldton, and Kalgoorlie-Boulder...
in Perth where it remains today. A large part of his herbarium is currently preserved in Bolton Museum
Bolton Museum
Bolton Museum is a public museum and art gallery in the town of Bolton, Greater Manchester, northern England, owned by Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council....
.
Claims of ancestry
In the 1870's Napier began styling himself as the Prince of MantuaMantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
and Montferrat
Montferrat
Montferrat is part of the region of Piedmont in Northern Italy. It comprises roughly the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Montferrat is one of the most important wine districts of Italy...
with subsidiary titles as prince of Ferrera
Ferrera
Ferrera is a municipality in the district of Hinterrhein in the Grisons, Switzerland. It was formed on 1 January 2008 through the merger of Innerferrera and Ausserferrera...
, Nevers
Nevers
Nevers is a commune in – and the administrative capital of – the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne region in central France...
, Rethel, and Alençon
Alençon
Alençon is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon .-History:...
; Baron de Tobago; and master of Lennox
Lennox
Lennox may refer to:* Lennox , often referred to as "The Lennox", an historic mormaerdom, earldom and then dukedom, in Stirling, Scotland* Lennox International, a global manufacturer of furnaces and central air conditioners....
, Kilmahew, and Merchiston
Merchiston
Merchiston is a prosperous, mainly residential area in the south-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. The housing is primarily a mixture of large, late Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian villas – several of the latter by Edward Calvert – together with a smaller number of Victorian tenements and...
. He worked with the genealogist John O'Hart
John O'Hart
John O'Hart was an Irish genealogist. He was born in Crossmolina, Co. Mayo, Ireland. A committed Roman Catholic, O'Hart originally planned to become Catholic priest but instead spent 2 years as a police officer. He was an Associate in Arts at the Queen's University of Belfast...
(Irish pedigrees, 1876, Vol. 1, p. 582) and claimed that he could trace his ancestry to various European royal bloodlines or nobles through his mother Ann Napier. A further work was published in 1879 attempting to link his mother to the Duchess of Mantua and Montferrat in Italy and the Scottish Clan Napier
Clan Napier
Clan Napier is a Scottish clan originally from lands around Loch Lomond, but with presence in Stirlingshire, Edinburgh, Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire.-Origins of the Clan:There is some debate about the origin of the name Napier...
. Napier further claimed he could trace his ancestry back to King David. These claims however were dismissed as fabrications by most genealogists and his academic reputation was tarred by scientists since his mineral collection was registered in the name of "Ex. Mus. P[rince] of Mantua & Monferrat".
Napier however never retracted his claims of ancestry and when he died of long-standing cardiac disease on 17 January 1894 his death was registered as that of "Charles de Bourbon d'Este Paleologues Gonzaga, prince of Mantua and Montferrat".
British Israelism
Napier read a paper entitled — "Where are the Lost Tribes of Israel" to the London Anthropological Society, in 1875. He believed that the British descended from the Ten Lost TribesTen Lost Tribes
The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel refers to those tribes of ancient Israel that formed the Kingdom of Israel and which disappeared from Biblical and all other historical accounts after the kingdom was destroyed in about 720 BC by ancient Assyria...
and was a personal friend of British Israelite Edward Hine
Edward Hine
Edward Hine was an influential proponent of British Israelism in the 1870s and 1880s, drawing on the earlier work of Richard Brothers and John Wilson . Hine went as far as to conclude that "It is an utter impossibility for England ever to be defeated...
.
Ornithology
The food, use, and beauty of British birds: An essay, accompanied by a catalogue, of all the British birds (1865)Variations in the colour, form and size of the eggs of birds (1868)
Natural History
The ocean world: being a descriptive history of the sea and its living inhabitants (1868)Natural History Rambles: Lakes and Rivers (1879)
Anthropology
Miscellanea anthropologica (1867)The book of nature and the book of man (1870)