Ethelbert Blatter
Encyclopedia
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
(15 December 1877 – 26 May 1934) was a Swiss Jesuit priest and pioneering botanist in British India. Author of five books and over sixty papers on the flora of the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
, he was Principal and Professor of Botany at St Xavier College, Bombay and Vice-President of the Bombay Natural History Society
Bombay Natural History Society
The Bombay Natural History Society, founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organizations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants, and publishes the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Many...
. In 1932, he became the first recipient of the Johannes Bruehl Memorial Medal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
Early life
Blatter was born in the cantonCantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of Appenzell Innerrhoden
Appenzell Innerrhoden
Appenzell Innerrhoden is the smallest canton of Switzerland by population and the second smallest by area, Basel-City having less area.-Foundation:...
in northeastern Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
in a region near Mount Säntis
Säntis
At 2,502.9 meters above sea level, Säntis is the tallest mountain in the Alpstein massif of northeastern Switzerland. The mountain is a highly visible landmark thanks to its exposed northerly location within the Alpstein massif. As a consequence, houses called Säntisblick can be found in regions...
. Having lost his father at an early age, he was raised by an uncle, a popular doctor in the municipality of Rebstein
Rebstein
Rebstein is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.-Geography:Rebstein has an area, , of . Of this area, 60.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 7.9% is forested...
in the neighboring Canton of St. Gallen
Canton of St. Gallen
The Canton of St. Gallen is a canton of Switzerland. St. Gallen is located in the north east of Switzerland. It covers an area of 2,026 km², and has a population of . , the population included 97,461 foreigners, or about 20.9% of the total population. The capital is St. Gallen. Spelling...
. The young Blatter lived in his uncle's home, a castle overlooking Rebstein and located in the Rhine valley just before the river's union with Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
(Bodensee). After finishing elementary education in Rebstein, Blatter attended middle school in Sarnen
Sarnen
Sarnen is the capital of the canton of Obwalden situated on the shores of Lake Sarnen , Switzerland. It has a population of just under 10,000 and is surrounded by countryside and mountains. Sarnen is located 20 km south of Lucerne.- History :...
, the capital of the Canton of Obwalden, in Central Switzerland
Central Switzerland
Central Switzerland is the region of the Alpine foothills geographically the heart and historically the origin of Switzerland, with the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Lucerne and Zug....
. His classmates at Sarnen remembered him as not only brilliant in every subject, but also a high-spirited companion with a reputation for pranks. After Sarnen, Blatter went on to have a brilliant career in high school in Schwyz
Schwyz
The town of is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.The Federal Charter of 1291 or Bundesbrief, the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the Bundesbriefmuseum.-History of the toponym:...
, capital of the Canton of Schwyz
Canton of Schwyz
Schwyz is a canton in central Switzerland between the Alps in the south, Lake Lucerne in the east and Lake Zurich in the north, centered around and named after the town of Schwyz....
, northeast of the canton of Obwalden. In October 1896, after finishing high school, Blatter moved to the border town of Feldkirch
Feldkirch, Vorarlberg
- Schools :* Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Feldkirch * Bundeshandelsakademie und Bundeshandelsschule Feldkirch* Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Schillerstrasse...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
to join the Noviciate of the German Province of the Society of Jesus. Since German Jesuits were in exile under Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
, Blatter moved to Holland in 1898 to first pursue classical studies and then study philosophy in the college of Valkenburg aan de Geul
Valkenburg aan de Geul
Valkenburg aan de Geul is a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands.-History:Siege and conquest were characteristic of the history of Valkenburg. Each event is withheld, followed by subsequent restorations. This most definitely holds for the castle perched atop of a hill in the middle of the...
in the southernmost province of Limburg
Limburg (Netherlands)
Limburg is the southernmost of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands. It is located in the southeastern part of the country and bordered by the province of Gelderland to the north, Germany to the east, Belgium to the south and part of the west, andthe Dutch province of North Brabant partly to...
. Around this time, he also developed an interest in botany and attended many scientific conferences in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
India I
In 1903, Blatter moved to India and was appointed Professor of Botany at St Xavier's College Bombay. The following year, he joined the Bombay Natural History SocietyBombay Natural History Society
The Bombay Natural History Society, founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organizations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants, and publishes the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Many...
(BNHS) and began to contribute articles, the first of which was "The Fauna and Flora of Our Metallic Money," an article which (somewhat humorously) cataloged the microorganisms commonly found on various coins in India. In pursuit of his researches, Blatter traveled extensively within India. His most important contributions from this time were a series of articles written between 1904 and 1909 (although published later) and titled, The Palms
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
of British India and Ceylon, Indigenous and Introduced. The articles were subsequently published in book form by Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
.
Theological studies in Europe
Returning to Europe in 1909, Blatter chose to complete his theological studies in HastingsHastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, South East England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
, where exiled Jesuits from two French provinces had opened a school of theology. During this time, Blatter also spent much time researching and compiling his papers, Flora of Aden, at the Royal Botanic Gardens
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...
in Kew
Kew
Kew is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in South West London. Kew is best known for being the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens, now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace...
. Ordained as a priest on 25 August 1912, Blatter spent another year in Holland, before returning to London to compile data for his next effort, Flora Arabica. Still in London when Great War broke out, Blatter booked his passage to India on a Japanese boat. Despite facing rifle fire from Turkish soldiers in the Suez Canal, the ship's journey was mostly uneventful, and Blatter arrived in Bombay in October 1915.
India II
Returning to his position as professor of botany at St Xavier's, Blatter expended great energy during the next few years both traveling and building an extensive botanical collection. Consequently, St. Xavier's College had one of the best herbaria in Western India during those years. He was appointed principal of the college in 1919, retaining his professorial chair until 1924. He also became a prominent member of Bombay University Senate, and played a major role in influencing later university reforms.In 1925 Blatter retired to Panchgani
Panchgani
Pānchgani is a town and municipal council in Sātārā district in Mahārāshtra, India .-History:Scenic Panchgani was discovered by the British during the British Raj as a summer resort, and a superintendent named John Chesson was placed in charge of the hill station in the 1860s...
as parish priest, and began to focus more on his botanical studies. His series of papers with W.S. Millard titled, Some Beautiful Indian Trees were published around this time. These papers too resulted in a book of the same name, a classic, still in print. Other books pertaining to India from this time were the two-volume Beautiful Flowers of Kashmir (1927, 1928); The Flora of the Indus Delta (with Charles McCann
Charles McCann
Yule Mervyn Charles McCann was a naturalist in India. He wrote several a popular book on the trees of India and edited a major regional flora apart from publishing many of his other observations, mainly in the journal of the Bombay Natural History Society that he was associated with.He was born...
and T. S. Sabnis, 1929); and The Ferns of Bombay (with J. F. D'Almeida, 1932).
The following year he was elected Vice-President of BNHS.
In 1930, during an expedition to Waziristan
Waziristan
Waziristan is a mountainous region near the Northwest of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . The area is entirely populated by ethnic Pashtuns . The language spoken in the valley is Pashto/Pakhto...
, a political agency in the North-West Frontier Province of British India, Blatter had a bad fall from a horse, and the resulting injuries brought on a partial paralysis. From that point onwards, his health began to fail. In 1932. in recognition of his botanical work, Fr. Blatter received the first Johannes Bruehl Memorial Medal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for "Conspicuous Important contributions to the knowledge of Asiatic Botany."
Fr. Ethelbert Blatter died on 26 May 1934 at St. Vincent's High School, Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
.
See also
- Bombay Natural History SocietyBombay Natural History SocietyThe Bombay Natural History Society, founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organizations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research. It supports many research efforts through grants, and publishes the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Many...
- Walter Samuel MillardWalter Samuel MillardWalter Samuel Millard was a British entrepreneur and naturalist who was honorary secretary of the Bombay Natural History Society and editor of the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society from 1906 to 1920, co-author of the classic, Some Beautiful Indian Trees, and the driving force behind...
- Blatter HerbariumBlatter HerbariumThe Blatter Herbarium, in St. Xavier's College, Bombay, is a major Herbarium in India. It is listed in the Index Herbariorum, published by the International Association for Plant Taxonomy and New York Botanical Garden...