Thomas Hardwicke
Encyclopedia
Major-General Thomas Hardwicke (1755 – 3 May 1835) was an English
soldier
and naturalist
who was resident
in India
from 1777 to 1823. After returning to England he collaborated with John Edward Gray
in the publication of Illustrations of Indian Zoology (1830-35).
At the age of 22, he joined the East India Company. Hardwicke rose to become Major-General in 1819, retiring from the army in 1823 and returned to England.
During his military career in India he travelled extensively over the subcontinent. He started collecting zoological specimens in these travels and amassed a large collection of paintings of animals which he got local artists to make. Most paintings were made from dead specimens, but many were also drawn from life. When he left India he had the largest collection of drawings of Indian animals ever formed by a single individual.
The Indian artists employed by Hardwicke are unknown but they were trained and their style was adapted to the demands of technical illustration using watercolours. The collection was bequeathed to the British Museum in 1835 which was later partly moved to the Natural History Museum. The collection consists of 4500 illustrations.
Hardwicke’s enthusiasm for the natural history of India was matched by the leading naturalists in England, with whom he corresponded. He was in contact with Sir Joseph Banks
, President of the Royal Society and he himself became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1813. His collections of illustrations were used by zoologists like J. E. Gray. Illustrations of Indian Zoology was published with Hardwicke's financing and it contained 202 large hand coloured plates, but he died before the textual part was produced.
Several species
named to commemorate his work as ornithologist, naturalist
and zoologist:
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
and 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...
who was resident
Resident (title)
A Resident, or in full Resident Minister, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indirect rule....
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...
from 1777 to 1823. After returning to England he collaborated with John Edward Gray
John Edward Gray
John Edward Gray, FRS was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray ....
in the publication of Illustrations of Indian Zoology (1830-35).
At the age of 22, he joined the East India Company. Hardwicke rose to become Major-General in 1819, retiring from the army in 1823 and returned to England.
During his military career in India he travelled extensively over the subcontinent. He started collecting zoological specimens in these travels and amassed a large collection of paintings of animals which he got local artists to make. Most paintings were made from dead specimens, but many were also drawn from life. When he left India he had the largest collection of drawings of Indian animals ever formed by a single individual.
The Indian artists employed by Hardwicke are unknown but they were trained and their style was adapted to the demands of technical illustration using watercolours. The collection was bequeathed to the British Museum in 1835 which was later partly moved to the Natural History Museum. The collection consists of 4500 illustrations.
Hardwicke’s enthusiasm for the natural history of India was matched by the leading naturalists in England, with whom he corresponded. He was in contact with Sir Joseph Banks
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and the genus named after him,...
, President of the Royal Society and he himself became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1813. His collections of illustrations were used by zoologists like J. E. Gray. Illustrations of Indian Zoology was published with Hardwicke's financing and it contained 202 large hand coloured plates, but he died before the textual part was produced.
Several species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
named to commemorate his work as ornithologist, naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
and zoologist:
- Common Blue Apollo, Parnassius hardwickiiParnassius hardwickiiCommon Blue Apollo Parnassius hardwickii is a high altitude butterfly which is found in South Asia. It is a member of the Snow Apollo genus Parnassius of the Swallowtail family...
- Finless sleeper ray, Temera hardwickii
- Hardwicke’s Pipefish, Solegnathus hardwickii
- East Indian Leopard Gecko Eublepharis hardwickiiEublepharis hardwickiiEast Indian Leopard Gecko is a species of gecko found in India.-Description:Body stout; limbs rather short; digits short. Snout as long as distance between orbit and ear-opening; the latter large, suboval, vertical...
- Hardwicke’s Spiny-tailed Lizard, Uromastyx hardwickiiUromastyx hardwickiiHardwicke's or Indian spiny-tailed lizard is a species of agamid lizard found patchily distributed in the Thar desert, Kutch and surrounding arid zones in India and Pakistan. These lizards are mainly herbivorous are live in numbers in some areas. These lizards are found in loose clusters and...
- Spine-bellied Sea Snake, Lapemis hardwickiiLapemis hardwickiiThe Spine-bellied Sea snake, or Hardwicke's Spine-bellied Sea snake, is a species of sea snake.-Description:*Body short, stout, neck region not less than half as thick at midbody;...
- Orange-bellied Leafbird, Chloropsis hardwickii
- Latham's Snipe, Gallinago hardwickii
- Hardwicke's Woolly Bat, Kerivoula hardwickii
- Lesser Mouse-tailed Bat, Rhinopoma hardwickei