Charles William Andrews
Encyclopedia
Charles William Andrews F.R.S., was a British palaeontologist
whose career as a vertebrate
paleontologist, both as a curator and in the field, was spent in the services of the British Museum
, Department of Geology.
.
A graduate of the University of London
, Andrews was awarded an assistant's position at the British Museum, after a competitive exam, in 1892. His first concerns were with fossil birds, and he described Aepyornis titan
, the extinct "Elephant Bird" of Madagascar
(1894). He noticed the connections among widely separated flightless rails of Mauritius
, the Chatham Islands
and New Zealand
and deduced that their flightless character had been independently evolved on the spot.
Alfred N. Leeds' gifts to the British Museum of Jurassic marine reptiles from the Oxford Clay
of Peterborough
elicited his interest in plesiosaur
s and other sea-reptiles which culminated in a catalogue of the Leeds collection at the British Museum (2 vols. 1910-13); his interest in this area did not flag afterwards: his last, posthumously-published paper concerned the skin impressions and other soft structures preserved in an ichthyosaur
paddle from Leicestershire
.
In 1897 he was selected to spend several months at Christmas Island
in the Indian Ocean
, to inspect it before the activities of phosphate
mining compromised its natural history. The results were published by the British Museum in 1900.
After 1900 his health began slowly to fail and he was sent to spend winter months in Egypt
; there he joined Beadnell of the Geological Survey of Egypt, inspecting fossils of freshwater fishes in the Fayoum, where Andrews noticed mammalian fauna not previously detected and published Moeritherium
and an early elephant, Palaeomastodon
, followed by his Descriptive Catalogue.
In 1916 he was awarded the Lyell Medal
of the Geological Society. He was also an active member of the Zoological Society.
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
whose career as a vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
paleontologist, both as a curator and in the field, was spent in the services of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, Department of Geology.
Biography
Andrews was born in Hampstead, MiddlesexHampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
.
A graduate of the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, Andrews was awarded an assistant's position at the British Museum, after a competitive exam, in 1892. His first concerns were with fossil birds, and he described Aepyornis titan
Aepyornis
Aepyornis is a genus of aepyornithid, one of two genera of ratite birds endemic to Madagascar known as elephant birds. This animal was the world's largest bird until its extinction, about 1000 years ago.-Description:...
, the extinct "Elephant Bird" of Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
(1894). He noticed the connections among widely separated flightless rails of Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, the Chatham Islands
Chatham Islands
The Chatham Islands are an archipelago and New Zealand territory in the Pacific Ocean consisting of about ten islands within a radius, the largest of which are Chatham Island and Pitt Island. Their name in the indigenous language, Moriori, means Misty Sun...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and deduced that their flightless character had been independently evolved on the spot.
Alfred N. Leeds' gifts to the British Museum of Jurassic marine reptiles from the Oxford Clay
Oxford Clay
The Oxford Clay Formation is a Jurassic marine sedimentary rock formation underlying much of southeast England, from as far west as Dorset and as far north as Yorkshire. The Oxford Clay is of middle Callovian to lower Oxfordian age and comprises 2 main facies. The lower facies comprises the...
of Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
elicited his interest in plesiosaur
Plesiosaur
Plesiosauroidea is an extinct clade of carnivorous plesiosaur marine reptiles. Plesiosauroids, are known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods...
s and other sea-reptiles which culminated in a catalogue of the Leeds collection at the British Museum (2 vols. 1910-13); his interest in this area did not flag afterwards: his last, posthumously-published paper concerned the skin impressions and other soft structures preserved in an ichthyosaur
Ichthyosaur
Ichthyosaurs were giant marine reptiles that resembled fish and dolphins...
paddle from Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
.
In 1897 he was selected to spend several months at Christmas Island
Christmas Island
The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, to inspect it before the activities of phosphate
Phosphate
A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...
mining compromised its natural history. The results were published by the British Museum in 1900.
After 1900 his health began slowly to fail and he was sent to spend winter months in 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...
; there he joined Beadnell of the Geological Survey of Egypt, inspecting fossils of freshwater fishes in the Fayoum, where Andrews noticed mammalian fauna not previously detected and published Moeritherium
Moeritherium
Moeritherium is a genus consisting of several species. These prehistoric mammals are related to the elephant and, more distantly, the sea cow...
and an early elephant, Palaeomastodon
Palaeomastodon
Palaeomastodon an extinct genus of Proboscidea. Palaeomastodon fossils have been found in Africa, lived some 36-35 million years ago. They are believed to be the ancestors of elephants or mastodons. This genus is related to Moeritherium....
, followed by his Descriptive Catalogue.
In 1916 he was awarded the Lyell Medal
Lyell Medal
The Lyell Medal is a prestigious annual scientific medal given by the Geological Society of London, equal in status to the Murchison Medal, awarded on the basis of research to an Earth Scientist of exceptional quality...
of the Geological Society. He was also an active member of the Zoological Society.