Richard William George Hingston
Encyclopedia
Major Richard William George Hingston ( 1887 - 5 August 1966) Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, was a physician, explorer and naturalist.
County Cork
.
He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School
and at University College Cork. He graduated from the National University of Ireland with first-class honours in 1910, and almost immediately obtained a position in the Indian Medical Service
. He secured second place in the I.M.S. examination, among the eminent group which included T. A. Hughes, the physiologist,Clive Newcomb, the research chemist,and Henry Shortt, the parasitologist.
In 1913 he was seconded from military duty as naturalist to the Indo-Russian Pamir triangulation expedition. In 1914 he went on war service and saw action in East Africa,France, Mesopotamia, and the N.W. Frontier,gaining two mentions in dispatches and the Military Cross for gallantry in action.
He was elected to the Royal Geographical Society
on 22 June 1922, proposed by Lt.-Col. Williamson Oswald and seconded by John Scott Keltie
.
In 1924 he was appointed medical officer and naturalist to the Mount Everest Expedition
, although he was not a mountaineer by profession but rather a doctor and naturalist. As a naturalist he collected 10,000 animal samples (insects for the largest part), and 500 plant specimens during the 1924 expedition. Among his finds were a species of Black Attid spiders he discovered living at 22,000 feet, the highest known habitat for any animal.There he also studied and later published his findings on the effects of high altitudes on the human body in Physiological Difficulties in the Ascent of Mount Everest, published in The Alpine Journal (1925).
Despite his lack of official climbing skills Dr.Hingston was able to come to the aid of Edward Norton
at Camp IV when Norton was struck by snow blindness.
From 1925 till 1927 he acted as surgeon-naturalist to the Marine Survey of India on H.I.M.S. Investigator. This post enabled him to conduct new and innovative research which provided rich fields of scientific treasure for several I.M.S. officers such as Alcock and Sewell.
Hingston retired from the I.M.S. on pension in 1927. He immediately joined the Oxford University expedition to Greenland. In the following year he took command of an expedition sent by the same university to British Guiana.
His account of the expedition was published in his book A naturalist in the Guiana forest in (1932). He subsequently undertook
a mission to Rhodesia, Nyasaland,Kenya, Uganda, and Tanganyika to investigate the methods of preserving the indigenous
fauna.
He was recalled to military duty in India in 1939, and remained there until 1946.
After the second world war Major Hingston retired to his home in Passage West
Co.Cork. He died there on 5 August 1966.
He wrote copiously, attractively, and accurately.Although most of his work appeared in scientific journals,he had a number of books to his credit.
In A naturalist in the Himalaya (1920),he told of the spiders, ants, and butterflies of the high valleys;
A naturalist in Hindustan (1923) detailed the lesser fauna of the plains of the United Provinces.
Books on the Nature of the Deserts Edge, Problems of Instinct and Intelligence, and The Meaning of Animal Colour and Adornment appeared in the late twenties and early thirties. and his book on Darwin in 1934.
He also contributed to Norton’s 1924 book “The Fight for Everest.”
Early life
Richard William George Hingston, son of the Rev. R. E. H. Hingston, Felhampton,Merton, was born in 1887. Most of his early life was spent in the family home at Horsehead in Passage WestPassage West
Passage West is a port town in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the west bank of Cork Harbour. It is some 10 km from Cork city, separated by the green belt from the urban sprawl of Douglas and Rochestown. The town has many services, amenities and social outlets...
County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
.
He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School
Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....
and at University College Cork. He graduated from the National University of Ireland with first-class honours in 1910, and almost immediately obtained a position in the Indian Medical Service
Indian Medical Service
The Indian Medical Service was one of the military medical services, which also had some civilian functions, in British India. It served during the two world wars, and was in existence until the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947...
. He secured second place in the I.M.S. examination, among the eminent group which included T. A. Hughes, the physiologist,Clive Newcomb, the research chemist,and Henry Shortt, the parasitologist.
In 1913 he was seconded from military duty as naturalist to the Indo-Russian Pamir triangulation expedition. In 1914 he went on war service and saw action in East Africa,France, Mesopotamia, and the N.W. Frontier,gaining two mentions in dispatches and the Military Cross for gallantry in action.
Naturalist and author
In 1920 he published a book detailing his 1914 & 1916 travels in the Himalayan valley of Hazara, in what is now Pakistan, entitled “A Naturalist in Himalaya.”He was elected to the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
on 22 June 1922, proposed by Lt.-Col. Williamson Oswald and seconded by John Scott Keltie
John Scott Keltie
Sir John Scott Keltie F.R.G.S., F.S.S was a Scottish geographer, best known for his work with the Royal Geographic Society.Keltie was born in Dundee, and attended school in Perth...
.
In 1924 he was appointed medical officer and naturalist to the Mount Everest Expedition
British Mount Everest Expedition 1924
The 1924 British Mount Everest Expedition was—after the 1922 British Mount Everest Expedition—the second expedition with the goal of achieving the first ascent of Mount Everest. After two summit attempts in which Edward Norton set a world altitude record, the mountaineers George Mallory and Andrew...
, although he was not a mountaineer by profession but rather a doctor and naturalist. As a naturalist he collected 10,000 animal samples (insects for the largest part), and 500 plant specimens during the 1924 expedition. Among his finds were a species of Black Attid spiders he discovered living at 22,000 feet, the highest known habitat for any animal.There he also studied and later published his findings on the effects of high altitudes on the human body in Physiological Difficulties in the Ascent of Mount Everest, published in The Alpine Journal (1925).
Despite his lack of official climbing skills Dr.Hingston was able to come to the aid of Edward Norton
Edward Felix Norton
Edward Felix Norton DSO MC was a British army officer and mountaineer.He was educated at Charterhouse School and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and then joined artillery units in India and served in World War I. He had been introduced to mountain climbing at the home in the Alps of his...
at Camp IV when Norton was struck by snow blindness.
From 1925 till 1927 he acted as surgeon-naturalist to the Marine Survey of India on H.I.M.S. Investigator. This post enabled him to conduct new and innovative research which provided rich fields of scientific treasure for several I.M.S. officers such as Alcock and Sewell.
Hingston retired from the I.M.S. on pension in 1927. He immediately joined the Oxford University expedition to Greenland. In the following year he took command of an expedition sent by the same university to British Guiana.
His account of the expedition was published in his book A naturalist in the Guiana forest in (1932). He subsequently undertook
a mission to Rhodesia, Nyasaland,Kenya, Uganda, and Tanganyika to investigate the methods of preserving the indigenous
fauna.
He was recalled to military duty in India in 1939, and remained there until 1946.
After the second world war Major Hingston retired to his home in Passage West
Passage West
Passage West is a port town in County Cork, Ireland, situated on the west bank of Cork Harbour. It is some 10 km from Cork city, separated by the green belt from the urban sprawl of Douglas and Rochestown. The town has many services, amenities and social outlets...
Co.Cork. He died there on 5 August 1966.
He wrote copiously, attractively, and accurately.Although most of his work appeared in scientific journals,he had a number of books to his credit.
In A naturalist in the Himalaya (1920),he told of the spiders, ants, and butterflies of the high valleys;
A naturalist in Hindustan (1923) detailed the lesser fauna of the plains of the United Provinces.
Books on the Nature of the Deserts Edge, Problems of Instinct and Intelligence, and The Meaning of Animal Colour and Adornment appeared in the late twenties and early thirties. and his book on Darwin in 1934.
He also contributed to Norton’s 1924 book “The Fight for Everest.”