John's Warsangli Linnet (1 Viewer)

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Here are some possibly new, additional parts regarding the eponym ...

johannis as in:
• Warsangli Linnet (Linaria) Acanthis johannis CLARKE 1919 (here) as "Warsanglia johannis":

... collected by John P. S. Clarke at Mush Haled in the Warsangli country, British Somaliland, about 250 miles W.S.W. of Cape Guardafui, at 4000 ft. elevation, on 9th February, 1919.
Named after the collector.

Today's HBW Alive Key gives us:

johannis
● John Philip Stephenson Clarke (b. 1896) English naturalist, collector, Somaliland Police 1918-1920 (Linaria).

... which ought to be John Philip Stephenson Clarke (1896–1969), English shipping Agent, Son of the Author* and (his first wife) Edith Gertrude née Goodman (d.1941)

Born, 18 April 1896 , in Kensington, London ... and he died 30 November 1969, in Cuckfield, (West) Sussex. Further details here.

Being the Son does (at least in my mind) explain the familiar tone in coining the eponym after his Christian name. If unrelated I think Colonel Clarke would have followed the surname, and, of course, he didn´t like anyone to belive he named the Linnet after himself. The Son was 23 when he collected the type. If ever a "Police" in British Somaliland as claimed above (and in The Eponym Dictionary of Birds, 2014, here), is unknown to me. I so a fairly young Police, on foreign soil, at the time of the discovery. Either way I´ve found no traces of him being a Cop ... however possible (shortly, for a few years), as he seems to have started his Shipping career in in the mid-1920's ... who knows?

Anyone disagree?

Björn

____________________________________________________
*His father (Hon.) Colonel Stephenson Robert Clarke (1848–1949),
is commemorated in several clarkei birds and one invalid stephensoni

 

[Taphrospilus]

The Eponym Dictionary of Birds

Warsangli Linnet Carduelis johannis S. Clarke, 1919
John P. Stephenson Clarke (b.1896) was a colonial policeman in British Somaliland (Somalia) (1918–1920). He is one one of the Clarke family, four of whom are mentioned in this book.

May add the question Stephenson Robert Clarke is another family member but who are the other two. OK one is Brigardier-General Goland Vanholt Clarke (1875-1944) Ploceus golandi (Stephenson Clarke, 1913) OD here. Who ist the fourth?

 

[l_raty]

Who ist the forth?

Ludovic (Clarke)

Ludovic’s Nightjar Caprimulgus ludovicianus S. Clarke, 1913​

[JS (or possibly valid subspecies) of Caprimulgus inornatus]​

Louis Colville Gray Clarke (1881–1960) was a member of the same family as Goland Clarke (q.v.) and Stephenson Clarke (q.v.). He was a naturalist who collected in Somalia and was Curator of the Fitzwilliam Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology at Cambridge, England (1937–1946). Stephenson Clarke collected the nightjar (1912) in south-west Ethiopia, and used ludovici as a latinised form of Louis.

Caprimulgus ludovicianus Clarke 1913. OD: Clarke S. 1913. [Exhibition of examples of two new African birds.] Bull. Brit. Ornithol. Cl., 31: 107-108.

Note: the type was also said to have been collected by Stephenson Clarke by Warren 1966 here. This conflicts with my reading of the OD.

Obs. I have presented the type of this species to the British Museum. Adult no. 43. South Abyssinia. L. Clarke coll.

 

[PScofield]

This is some confusion about who Clarke the author is. As far as I can tell he is always Stephenson Robert Clarke (1862-1948)

The OD for Dryobates cabanisi stephensoni E. C. S. Baker, 1926 says named after Col Stephenson Clarke which is Stephenson Robert Clarke

It could be FIVE actually 1 father, 3 sons, 1 grandson but I can find no definite ODs to the father.

FATHER

Stephenson Clarke

Birth	9 Apr 1824 Surrey, England
Marriage	1 Jun 1861 Brighton, Sussex, England
Residence	1871 Croydon, Surrey, England
Death	4 Mar 1891 Croydon, Surrey, England

Father	Robert Clarke (1782-1849)
Mother	Maria Elizabeth Nunn (1795-1870)
Spouse	Agnes Maria Bridger (1837-1921)

SONS

Louis Colville Gray Clarke

Birth	2 May 1881 Croydon, Surrey, England
Death	13 Dec 1960 Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England

Stephenson Robert Clarke

Birth	28 Jun 1862 Marylebone, Middlesex, England
Marriage	1891
Residence	2 Apr 1911 Cuckfield, Sussex, England
Death	3 Nov 1948 Cuckfield, Sussex, England

Spouse	Edith Gertrude Godman (Born 1863)

Goland Van Holt (Capt.) Clarke

Birth	25 Nov 1876 Croydon, Surrey, England
Marriage	3 Oct 1907 District of Columbia, USA Mathilde Bryson Hannegan (1877-1912)
Residence	1940 London, London, England
Death	27 Aug 1944 Surrey, England

GRANDSON

STEPHENSON ROBERT CLARKES SON WAS John Philip Stephenson Clarke (1896–1969), As in post 1

 

[PScofield]

The reference to JPS Clarke being in the Somaliland Police intrigued me.

As is clear from Clarke's OD that the movements of the British Somaliland Governor Sir Geoffrey Francis Archer KCMG (4 July 1882 – 1 May 1964) and John Clarke were linked.

JPS's father was commander of the Royal Sussex Regiment and a friend of Archers and so he was well connected in military circles. I suspect but have no proof yet that Clarke was actually Archer's aide-de-camp in 1919.

Documents indicate that JPS Clarke was indeed a Soldier in 1917 and was a civilian back working for Stephenson Clarke Shipping and coal merchants by 1923.

P

 

[PScofield]

I have received the following from a family member that he generously provided to share:

Stephenson Robert Clarke (SRC 1862 - 1948) was the eldest of about 10 children, most of whom were baptised with the surnames of family friends, such as his brother, Goland Van Holt Clarke. The family business was a coal trading partnership that flourished in the late 19th century due to the demand for gas and coke.

SRC's son John Philip Stephenson Clarke (JPSC, 1896 -1969) briefly served in the Police in the Somaliland Protectorate. Somewhere there is a letter written by Eva Godman in the 1960s checking on the circumstances of his discovery of the Warsangli Johannis linnet for the details to be included in the Archer & Godman book on the birds of Somaliland and Aden.

JPSC 1896–1969 was on mounted patrol in the interior on a high plateau, when he observed a flock of unfamiliar birds and simply shot a bunch. He sent the skins back to Britain, and SRC probably suggested 'johannis' rather than 'clarkii'. SRC's wife was a niece of Frederick du Cane Godman, who was a co-author of Biologia Centrali Americana.

SRC's son-in-law was Cyril Winthrop Mackworth-Praed, (CWM-P) who was a British sport shooter who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics. In 1924 he won the gold medal as a member of the British team in the team running deer, double shots event [not very "PC" today]. He also won two silver medals in the running deer: single shots, and double shots competition. In the 1924 Summer Olympics he also participated in the following events:

Team 100 metre running deer, single shots - fourth place
Team clay pigeons - eighth place
individual trap - result unknown
He also competed at the 1952 Summer Olympics.

CWM-P collected British moths in his old age (thousands of them) and wrote a book about the birds of East Africa. His son Ben M-P (born 1936) was part of an overland expedition in Latin America circa 1960 and was probably the first person to film the Torrent duck (Merganetta armata).
There and back again: St John's alumnus returns to Alaska to finish epic journey | StJohns

I thank the family member (who wishes to remain anonymous) for a fascinating account of a rather remarkable family!

P

 

[Taphrospilus]

As is clear from Clarke's OD that the movements of the British Somaliland Governor Sir Geoffrey Francis Archer KCMG (4 July 1882 – 1 May 1964)

Just to add on him:

Buteo archeri Sclater, WL 1918 OD v.38-40=no.227-252 (1917-1920) - Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club - Biodiversity Heritage Library

Two other examples collected by Mr. G. F. Archer, ...

The bird is named after Mr Archer, who has recently been making a very fine collection of Somaliland birds.

Cossypha archeri Sharpe, 1902 OD v.10-15=no.65-117 [v.10 Incomplete] (1899-1905) - Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club - Biodiversity Heritage Library
Heteromirafra archeri Clarke, 1920 OD v.38-40=no.227-252 (1917-1920) - Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club - Biodiversity Heritage Library

collected by G. F. Archer, after whom it is named.

Falco tinnunculus archeri Hartert, E & Neumann, 1932 OD https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/Journal-fuer-Ornithologie_80_1932_0521-0533.pdf#page=531

Wir benennen sie nach Sir Geoffrey Archer

Platalea leucorodia archeri Neumann, 1928 Neue Formen von Nordost- und Ost-Afrika - Journal of Ornithology (not seen)
Scleroptila gutturalis archeri (Sclater, WL 1927) v.48=no.317-325 (1927-1928) - Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club - Biodiversity Heritage Library

...collected by Sir Geoffrey Archer on 23 June, 1927

Tachymarptis melba archeri (Hartert, E 1928) OD v. 34 (1927-28) - Novitates zoologicae - Biodiversity Heritage Library

Named in honour of Sir Geoffrey Archer, formerly Govenor of British Somaliland.

Eremomela griseoflava archeri W. L. Sclater , 1927 OD v.48=no.317-325 (1927-1928) - Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club - Biodiversity Heritage Library

The Eponym Dictionary of Birds

A comprehensive dictionary listing all the people whose names are commemorated in the English and scientific names of birds.Birdwatchers often come across bird names that include a person's name, either in the vernacular (English) name or latinised in the scientific nomenclature. Such names are...

books.google.de

Archer's Robin Chat Cossypha archeri Sharpe, 1902 [Alt. Archer's Ground Robin; Syn. Dryocichloides archeri]
Archer's Buzzard Buteo (augur) archeri W. L. Sclater, 1918
Archer's Lark Heteromirafra archeri R. S. Clarke,1920
Francolin Scleroptila levalliantoides archeri W. L. Sclater, 1927 [Alt. Orange River Francolin; Syn. Francolinus levalliantoides archeri]
Alpine Swift ssp. Tachymarptis melba archeri Hartert, 1928
Eurasian Spoonbill ssp. Platalea leucorodia archeri Neumann, 1928
Common Kestrel ssp. Falco tinnunculus archeri Hartert & Neumann, 1932
Sir Geoffrey Francis Archer (1882–1964) was an explorer and administrator who was posted to British Somaliland in 1913, serving as Deputy Commissioner, HM Commissioner and finally as Governor (1919–1922). He carried out extensive field observations and collected 3,000 skins and 1,000 clutches of eggs. His observations of Archer's Lark are particularly important as the species was not subsequently seen for many decades until its rediscovery in Ethiopia in the 1970s. Another of his discoveries, Somali Pigeon Columba oliviae, was named after his wife Olive (q.v.). Later he became Governor-General of the Sudan (1924–1926). He co-authored, with Eva M. Godman, the 4-volume Birds of British Somaliland and the Gulf of Aden: their Life Histories, Breeding Habits and Eggs (1937–1961). F. J. Jackson (q.v.), who was Archer's uncle, collected the robin chat in Uganda.

The Key to Scientific Names - Birds of the World

Species accounts for all the birds of the world.

birdsoftheworld.org

Sir Geoffrey Francis Archer (1882-1964) British explorer, Gov. of British Somaliland 1919-1922, Gov.-Gen. of the Sudan 1924-1926 (Buteo, Cossypha, subsp. Falco tinnunculus, syn. Eremomela icteropygialis griseoflava, Heteromirafra, subsp. Platalea leucorodia, subsp. Scleroptila gutturalis, subsp. Tachymarptis melba).

Columba oliviae Clarke, 1918 OD v.38-40=no.227-252 (1917-1920) - Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club - Biodiversity Heritage Library

This very distinct species was discovered by Mr. G. F. Archer, C.M.G., inhabiting cliffs in the neighbourhood of Berberea, British Somaliland, and is named after Mrs. G.F. Archer.

Eponym Dictionary of Birds

Somali Pigeon Columba oliviae S. Clarke, 1918
Lady Olive Archer (DNF) was the wife of Sir Geoffrey Francis Archer (q.v.).

The Key to Scientific Names - Birds of the World

Species accounts for all the birds of the world.

birdsoftheworld.org

Lady Olive Mary Archer née Godman (1894-1976) wife of Sir Geoffrey Archer, Commissioner/Gov. of British Somaliland 1914-1922, and ornithologist (Columba).

So looks like the married Jun 1916 in Horsham. Strangway-Towneley - Person Page 3,946 . If she died 1976 or 1964 as claimed here Strangway-Towneley - Person Page 1,799 is unknown to me. But very likly View entry

In Horsham 11 May 1916 Olive Mary Godman b. 10 May 1894 Horsham, d. 19 Feb 1976 Malling, Kent (dau of Col. Charles Bulkeley Godman)

The other Godman mentioned is Eva Mary Godman https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1474-919X.1965.tb07345.x.