Ernest Hanbury Hankin
Encyclopedia
Ernest Hanbury Hankin was a British
bacteriologist, aeronautical theorist and naturalist. Working mainly in India
, he studied malaria
, cholera
and other diseases. His studies of geometric patterns in Mughal architecture
("Saracenic art" in the language of his day) later influenced computer scientists.
and St. Bartholomew’s Hospital
Medical School and he was an Associate Fellow of the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain. In 1892 he accepted the position of Chemical Examiner and Bacteriologist to the Government of the United Provinces and of the Central Provinces of India. In 1896 he published, through the Pasteur Institute
, "L'action bactericide des eaux de la Jumna et du Gange sur le vibrion
du cholera", a paper in which he described the antibacterial activity of a then unknown source in the Ganges and Jumna Rivers in India. He suggested that it was responsible for limiting the spread of cholera
. While Hankin did not study this phenomenon further, his work was nonetheless recognized a generation later as being among the first observations of bacteriophage
activity which Félix d'Herelle
later described at the Pasteur Institute.
Hankin started the practice of using potassium permanganate in wells as a means for controlling cholera. The editors of the journal Science Progress lamented that Hankin had been largely unrecognized for his contributions to human health and hygiene: "Hankin's work has been of greater importance to India than the work or no-work of many persons who have received more honours and acknowledgements. Really, in some respects the British remain barbarians to the present day, and he should write an article on the mental ability of the Indian Powers-that-Be !" The efficacy of this method of disinfecting wells was however questioned in later studies.
Hankin wrote "On the Epidemiology of Plague" in the Journal of Hygiene in 1905, but by now his interests had drifted towards the subject of flight. In 1914 he published Animal Flight about soaring
flight in birds, based on observations he made, particularly of gulls and vultures, in Agra. He introduced a technique to plot the flight path of soaring birds by tracing their movements on a horizontal mirror. He identified thermals and currents as a requirement for soaring and dynamic soaring. With D. M. S. Watson he also published a pioneering paper on the flight of Pterodactyls in the Aeronautical Journal (1914).
He returned to England in the early 1920s where he continued his research into the dynamics of flight continued. In 1923, Time magazine carried the following short notice on his exploits: "Much interest is taken in England in the problems of air gliding. People on a London Common saw a strange sight—an elderly gentleman playing with a toy aeroplane. He was Dr. E. H. Hankin ... and he was experimenting with a model glider."
In 1922 he made a study of Quakers and their education. Between 1851 and 1900 he calculated that a man had 46 times more chance of being elected to the FRS if he was a Quaker or of Quaker descent. He attributed this to the superior mental ability that came out of enhancing intuition rather than the development of conscious reasoning that certain educational systems imposed.
In his 1928 book, The Cave Man's Legacy, Hankin compares monkey and ape behavioural traits and their analogs in humans.
While in India, he wrote about Islamic star patterns
he had observed there, but publication was delayed until 1925. "The Drawing of Geometric Patterns in Saracenic Art" was finally published in Memoirs of the Archaeological Sourvey of India, under the editorship of J. F. Blakiston. Many of these patterns are aperiodic penrose tilings. This and later writings have influenced computer scientists and mathematicians in recent years.
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...
bacteriologist, aeronautical theorist and naturalist. Working mainly 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...
, he studied malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
and other diseases. His studies of geometric patterns in Mughal architecture
Mughal architecture
Mughal architecture, an amalgam of Islamic, Persian, Turkish and Indian architecture, is the distinctive style developed by the Mughals in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries in what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. It is symmetrical and decorative in style.The Mughal dynasty was...
("Saracenic art" in the language of his day) later influenced computer scientists.
Life and career
He was educated at Merchant Taylors School, University College LondonUniversity College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
and St. Bartholomew’s Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital
St Bartholomew's Hospital, also known as Barts, is a hospital in Smithfield in the City of London, England.-Early history:It was founded in 1123 by Raherus or Rahere , a favourite courtier of King Henry I...
Medical School and he was an Associate Fellow of the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain. In 1892 he accepted the position of Chemical Examiner and Bacteriologist to the Government of the United Provinces and of the Central Provinces of India. In 1896 he published, through the Pasteur Institute
Pasteur Institute
The Pasteur Institute is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who made some of the greatest breakthroughs in modern medicine at the time, including pasteurization and vaccines for anthrax...
, "L'action bactericide des eaux de la Jumna et du Gange sur le vibrion
Vibrion
Vibrion is an antiquated term for microorganisms, especially a pathogenic ones; see Germ theory of disease. The term may specifically refer to motile microorganisms....
du cholera", a paper in which he described the antibacterial activity of a then unknown source in the Ganges and Jumna Rivers in India. He suggested that it was responsible for limiting the spread of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
. While Hankin did not study this phenomenon further, his work was nonetheless recognized a generation later as being among the first observations of bacteriophage
Bacteriophage
A bacteriophage is any one of a number of viruses that infect bacteria. They do this by injecting genetic material, which they carry enclosed in an outer protein capsid...
activity which Félix d'Herelle
Félix d'Herelle
Félix d'Herelle was a French-Canadian microbiologist, the co-discoverer of bacteriophages and experimented with the possibility of phage therapy.-Early years:...
later described at the Pasteur Institute.
Hankin started the practice of using potassium permanganate in wells as a means for controlling cholera. The editors of the journal Science Progress lamented that Hankin had been largely unrecognized for his contributions to human health and hygiene: "Hankin's work has been of greater importance to India than the work or no-work of many persons who have received more honours and acknowledgements. Really, in some respects the British remain barbarians to the present day, and he should write an article on the mental ability of the Indian Powers-that-Be !" The efficacy of this method of disinfecting wells was however questioned in later studies.
Hankin wrote "On the Epidemiology of Plague" in the Journal of Hygiene in 1905, but by now his interests had drifted towards the subject of flight. In 1914 he published Animal Flight about soaring
Lift (soaring)
Gliding flight is heavier-than-air flight without the use of thrust. It is employed by gliding animals and by aircraft such as gliders. The most common human application of gliding flight is in sport and recreation using aircraft designed for this purpose...
flight in birds, based on observations he made, particularly of gulls and vultures, in Agra. He introduced a technique to plot the flight path of soaring birds by tracing their movements on a horizontal mirror. He identified thermals and currents as a requirement for soaring and dynamic soaring. With D. M. S. Watson he also published a pioneering paper on the flight of Pterodactyls in the Aeronautical Journal (1914).
In 1922 he made a study of Quakers and their education. Between 1851 and 1900 he calculated that a man had 46 times more chance of being elected to the FRS if he was a Quaker or of Quaker descent. He attributed this to the superior mental ability that came out of enhancing intuition rather than the development of conscious reasoning that certain educational systems imposed.
In his 1928 book, The Cave Man's Legacy, Hankin compares monkey and ape behavioural traits and their analogs in humans.
While in India, he wrote about Islamic star patterns
Islamic interlace patterns
Geometric interlacing patterns are a subcategory of Islamic pattern and ornament. They can be considered a particular type of arabesque which developed from the rich interlace patterning of the Byzantine Empire, and Coptic art. One of the first Western studies of the subject was E. H...
he had observed there, but publication was delayed until 1925. "The Drawing of Geometric Patterns in Saracenic Art" was finally published in Memoirs of the Archaeological Sourvey of India, under the editorship of J. F. Blakiston. Many of these patterns are aperiodic penrose tilings. This and later writings have influenced computer scientists and mathematicians in recent years.
Other publications
- Animal Flight: a record of observation (1914)
- The Mental Limitations of the Expert (1920)
- Common Sense and its Cultivation (1925)
- The Cave Man's Legacy (1928)
- Nationalism and the Communal Mind (1937)