Francis Buchanan-Hamilton
Encyclopedia
Dr Francis Buchanan, later known as Francis Hamilton but often referred to as Francis Buchanan-Hamilton (15 February 1762 - 15 June 1829) was a Scot
tish physician
who made significant contributions as a geographer
, zoologist, and botanist while living in India
.
The standard botanical author abbreviation Buch.-Ham. is applied to plants and animals he described, though today the form "Hamilton, 1822" is more usually seen in ichthyology
and is preferred by Fishbase
.
, Perthshire
; his family originated in Spittal
and claimed the chiefdom of the name of Buchanan
. Francis studied medicine
at the University of Edinburgh
. After several voyages on Merchant Navy ships to Asia
, he served in the Bengal Medical Service from 1794 to 1815. He also studied botany under John Hope
in Edinburgh.
in Calcutta, where he also organized a zoo that was to become the Calcutta Alipore Zoo.
In 1799, after the defeat of Tippu Sultan and the fall of Mysore
, he was asked to survey South India
resulting in A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar (1807). He also wrote An Account of the Kingdom of Nepal(1819).
From 1807 to 1814, under the instructions of the government of Bengal
, he made a comprehensive survey of the areas within the jurisdiction of the British East India Company
. He was asked to report on topography, history, antiquities, the condition of the inhabitants, religion, natural productions (particularly fisheries, forests, mines, and quarries), agriculture (covering vegetables, implements, manure, floods, domestic animals, fences, farms, and landed property, fine and common arts, and commerce (exports and imports, weights and measures, and conveyance of goods). His conclusions are reported in a series of treatises that are retained in major United Kingdom
libraries; many have been re-issued in modern editions. They include an important work on India
n fish species, entitled An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges and its branches (1822), which describes over 100 species not formerly recognised scientifically.
He also collected and described many new plant
s in the region, and collected a series of watercolours of Indian and Nepal
ese plants and animals, probably painted by Indian artists, which are now in the library of the Linnean Society of London
.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in May, 1806
to become the Superintendent of the Calcutta botanical garden
in 1814, but had to return to Britain
in 1815 due to his ill health. In an interesting incident the notes that he took of Hope's botany lectures in 1780 was lent to his shipmate Alexander Boswell during a voyage in 1785. Boswell, lost the notes in Satyamangalam in Mysore and the notes went into the hands of Tippu Sultan who had them rebound. In 1800 they were found in Tippu's library by a major who returned it to Buchanan.
Buchanan left India in 1815, and in the same year inherited his mother's estate and in consequence took her surname of Hamilton, referring to himself as "Francis Hamilton, formerly Buchanan" or simply "Francis Hamilton". However he is variously referred to by others as "Buchanan-Hamilton", "Francis Hamilton Buchanan" or "Francis Buchanan Hamilton".
and the East India Company
, respectively.
Scot
A Scot is a member of an ethnic group indigenous to Scotland, derived from the Latin name of Irish raiders, the Scoti.Scot may also refer to:People with the given name Scot:* Scot Brantley , American football linebacker...
tish physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
who made significant contributions as a geographer
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, zoologist, and botanist while living in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
The standard botanical author abbreviation Buch.-Ham. is applied to plants and animals he described, though today the form "Hamilton, 1822" is more usually seen in ichthyology
Ichthyology
Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish. This includes skeletal fish , cartilaginous fish , and jawless fish...
and is preferred by Fishbase
FishBase
FishBase is a comprehensive database of information about fish species . It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web...
.
Early life
He was born Francis Buchanan at Bardowie, CallanderCallander
Callander is a burgh in the region of Stirling, Scotland, situated on the River Teith. The town is located in the former county of Perthshire and is a popular tourist stop to and from the Highlands....
, Perthshire
Perthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
; his family originated in Spittal
Spittal
Spittal or Spital, in place-names, may indicate lands of which the revenues supported a hospital, or the reference may be to the site of a hospital...
and claimed the chiefdom of the name of Buchanan
Buchanan
- People :* Buchanan * James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States* James M. Buchanan, Nobel Prize-winning American economist.- Places :In Africa:* Buchanan, Liberia, a large coastal townIn Canada:* Buchanan, Saskatchewan...
. Francis studied medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
. After several voyages on Merchant Navy ships to Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, he served in the Bengal Medical Service from 1794 to 1815. He also studied botany under John Hope
John Hope (botanist)
John Hope was a Scottish physician and botanist. He is best known as an early supporter of Carl Linnaeus's system of classification, largely because he published very little of the research that might have made him a name in plant physiology....
in Edinburgh.
Career in India
From 1803 to 1804 he was surgeon to the Governor General of India Lord WellesleyRichard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley
Richard Colley Wesley, later Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, KG, PC, PC , styled Viscount Wellesley from birth until 1781, was an Anglo-Irish politician and colonial administrator....
in Calcutta, where he also organized a zoo that was to become the Calcutta Alipore Zoo.
In 1799, after the defeat of Tippu Sultan and the fall of Mysore
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War was a war in South India between the Sultanate of Mysore and the British East India Company under the Earl of Mornington....
, he was asked to survey South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
resulting in A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar (1807). He also wrote An Account of the Kingdom of Nepal(1819).
From 1807 to 1814, under the instructions of the government of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, he made a comprehensive survey of the areas within the jurisdiction of the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
. He was asked to report on topography, history, antiquities, the condition of the inhabitants, religion, natural productions (particularly fisheries, forests, mines, and quarries), agriculture (covering vegetables, implements, manure, floods, domestic animals, fences, farms, and landed property, fine and common arts, and commerce (exports and imports, weights and measures, and conveyance of goods). His conclusions are reported in a series of treatises that are retained in major United Kingdom
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...
libraries; many have been re-issued in modern editions. They include an important work on India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n fish species, entitled An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges and its branches (1822), which describes over 100 species not formerly recognised scientifically.
He also collected and described many new plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s in the region, and collected a series of watercolours of Indian and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
ese plants and animals, probably painted by Indian artists, which are now in the library of the Linnean Society of London
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...
.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in May, 1806
Later life
He succeeded William RoxburghWilliam Roxburgh
William Roxburgh was a Scottish surgeon and botanist. He has been called the Father of Indian Botany.-Early life:Roxburgh was born at Underwood in the parish of Craigie, Ayrshire. He studied medicine in Edinburgh...
to become the Superintendent of the Calcutta botanical garden
Indian Botanical Gardens
The Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden is situated in Shibpur, Howrah near Kolkata. They are commonly known as the Calcutta Botanical Garden, and previously as the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta...
in 1814, but had to return to Britain
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...
in 1815 due to his ill health. In an interesting incident the notes that he took of Hope's botany lectures in 1780 was lent to his shipmate Alexander Boswell during a voyage in 1785. Boswell, lost the notes in Satyamangalam in Mysore and the notes went into the hands of Tippu Sultan who had them rebound. In 1800 they were found in Tippu's library by a major who returned it to Buchanan.
Buchanan left India in 1815, and in the same year inherited his mother's estate and in consequence took her surname of Hamilton, referring to himself as "Francis Hamilton, formerly Buchanan" or simply "Francis Hamilton". However he is variously referred to by others as "Buchanan-Hamilton", "Francis Hamilton Buchanan" or "Francis Buchanan Hamilton".
Further reading
- in three volumes, publishers noted as booksellers to the Asiatic SocietyRoyal Asiatic Society
The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland was established, according to its Royal Charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the encouragement of science, literature and the arts in relation to Asia." From its incorporation the Society...
and the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, respectively.
- Noltie, H.J. (1999) Indian botanical drawings 1793-1868. ISBN 1-872291-23-6