Andrew Leith Adams
Encyclopedia
Andrew Leith Adams was a Scottish
physician
, naturalist
and geologist
. He was the father of the writer Francis Adams
.
. Between 1849-1854 he was posted in Dagshai, Rawalpindi and Peshawar. He also served in Kashmir
, Egypt
, Malta
(1861–1868), Gibraltar
and Canada
. He married Bertha Jane Grundy
on 26 October 1859, who later became famous as a novelist.
He spent his spare time studying the natural history of these countries. He was among the first to study the interior of Ladakh and wrote about it in "The birds of Cashmere and Ladakh". The Orange Bullfinch Pyrrhula aurantiaca was discovered by him as also the first breeding site of Brown-headed Gulls Larus brunnicephalus in the lakes of the Tibetan plateau.
After his retirement from the army in 1873, Adams was professor of natural history at Trinity College, Dublin
and Queen's College, Cork. He was elected a fellow of the Geographical Society in 1870 a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
in 1872. He died of a pulmonary haemorrhage on 29 July 1883 at Rushbrook Villa (Cork).
He published Wanderings of a Naturalist in India, the Western Himalayas and Cashmere (1867) and Notes of a Naturalist in the Nile Valley and Malta (1871).
He is commemorated in the Black-winged Snowfinch
Montifringilla adamsi and in the genus of the Pleistocene giant dormouse
of Malta
and Sicily
Leithia melitensis and Leithia cartei. In 1868 Leith Adams described the very large form of giant dormouse from the Maqhlaq cave as Myoxus melitensis and the smaller form as Myoxus cartei. Later, Richard Lydekker assigned the two species to a new genus, named Leithia in honour of Leith Adams in 1895.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
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...
, 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 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...
. He was the father of the writer Francis Adams
Francis Adams (writer)
Francis William Lauderdale Adams was an essayist, poet, dramatist, novelist and journalist who produced a large volume of work in his short life.- Early life :...
.
Life and career
Adams was the son of Francis Adams (1796–1861), a surgeon and Espeth Shaw. He studied medicine and joined as an army physician in 1848, serving in the 22nd Infantry Regiment in IndiaIndia
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...
. Between 1849-1854 he was posted in Dagshai, Rawalpindi and Peshawar. He also served in Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
(1861–1868), Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He married Bertha Jane Grundy
Bertha Jane Grundy
Bertha Jane Grundy was a novelist born in 1837?; she died on 5 September 1912. She was first married on 26 October 1859 to Andrew Leith Adams. After his death in 1882 she remarried to Rev. Robert Stuart de Courcy Laffan...
on 26 October 1859, who later became famous as a novelist.
He spent his spare time studying the natural history of these countries. He was among the first to study the interior of Ladakh and wrote about it in "The birds of Cashmere and Ladakh". The Orange Bullfinch Pyrrhula aurantiaca was discovered by him as also the first breeding site of Brown-headed Gulls Larus brunnicephalus in the lakes of the Tibetan plateau.
After his retirement from the army in 1873, Adams was professor of natural history at Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
and Queen's College, Cork. He was elected a fellow of the Geographical Society in 1870 a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
in 1872. He died of a pulmonary haemorrhage on 29 July 1883 at Rushbrook Villa (Cork).
He published Wanderings of a Naturalist in India, the Western Himalayas and Cashmere (1867) and Notes of a Naturalist in the Nile Valley and Malta (1871).
He is commemorated in the Black-winged Snowfinch
Black-winged Snowfinch
The Black-winged Snowfinch, Adams's Snowfinch or Tibetan Snowfinch is a species of bird in the sparrow family. It is found in China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland...
Montifringilla adamsi and in the genus of the Pleistocene giant dormouse
Dormouse
Dormice are rodents of the family Gliridae. Dormice are mostly found in Europe, although some live in Africa and Asia. They are particularly known for their long periods of hibernation...
of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
and Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
Leithia melitensis and Leithia cartei. In 1868 Leith Adams described the very large form of giant dormouse from the Maqhlaq cave as Myoxus melitensis and the smaller form as Myoxus cartei. Later, Richard Lydekker assigned the two species to a new genus, named Leithia in honour of Leith Adams in 1895.
Other sources
- Anon (August 19, 1882) Obituary: Andrew Leith Adams, M.B., F.R.S. The British Medical Journal 2(1129):338
External links
- Wanderings of a naturalist in India, Archive.org