__NOTOC__ Arthur Cowell Stark (27 November 1846 – 18 November 1899) was an English medical doctor and naturalist. He emigrated from

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

, England to

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, South Africa in 1892. He lived in (the British colonies of) South Africa during the last 7 years of his life and died during the

Siege of Ladysmith The siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 2 November 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal. Boer invasion of Natal Outbreak of war The Second Boer War began on 11 October 1899 wh ...

at the age of 53. He is best known for initiating an ornithological work, ''The Birds of South Africa''.

Early life

Arthur Stark was born in

as the eldest of three sons of Anne and John Stark. His father was a successful

ironmonger Ironmongery originally referred, first, to the manufacture of iron goods and, second, to the place of sale of such items for domestic rather than industrial use. In both contexts, the term has expanded to include items made of steel, aluminium ...

, and at times a furniture manufacturer. Stark was educated at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is an Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent co-educational boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school in the English Public School (United Kingdom), public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon, T ...

and

Clifton College Clifton College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862 and offering both boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18. In its early years, unlike mo ...

. When his father died in 1863, Stark, then aged 16, took on the responsibility for the family business. He worked as ironmonger until he was 26, when he married his distant cousin Rosa Cox. For a time the couple lived in

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...

, before they moved to Edinburgh where Stark, then aged 30, began his medical studies at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

South African work

After the death of his wife Rosa in 1892, he settled in Cape Town, while his daughters remained in England. Besides practicing as medical doctor he travelled regularly to collect animal specimens for the

South African Museum The Iziko South African Museum, formerly the South African Museum (Afrikaans: Suid-Afrikaanse Museum), is a South African national museum located in Cape Town. The museum was founded in 1825, the first in the country. It has been on its present ...

and made sketches and extensive notes of his observations. His travels up to 1898 included excursions into the inland regions of the Cape, Natal, Orange Free State and Transvaal, while he consulted the major specimen collections of the time, at the South African Museum,

Albany Museum The Albany Museum, South Africa, situated in Makhanda, South Africa, is affiliated to Rhodes University and dates back to 1855,Chinsamy, Anusuya. (1997). "Albany Museum, Grahamstown, South Africa." ''Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs''. Edited by Philli ...

in Grahamstown and the Durban Museum. Besides his personal notes, he accumulated bird eggs, bird nests and butterfly specimens, some of which were added to his personal collection. He moved from Cape Town to Durban shortly before the outbreak of the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

and travelled to England in 1899 to oversee the printing of the first volume of his ornithological work, ''The Birds of South Africa''. The completed series was meant to form part of a wider project under the editorship of William Sclater, director of the

, describing the fauna of southern Africa. Stark returned to the

Colony of Natal The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May 1910 combined with three other colonies t ...

in September 1899, where he volunteered as medical officer for the British forces when the

broke out.

Death at Ladysmith

During the siege of Ladysmith he was resident in the Royal Hotel, but spent the days in shell-proof dugouts along the Klip River, or fishing, while the town was being shelled by

Boer Boers ( ; ; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch ...

forces. Stark had just returned and was standing on the hotel's veranda on the evening of 18 November 1899, when at 19:30 the Long Tom cannon stationed on Pepworth Hill fired two shots at the hotel. These were aimed at important persons who may have assembled there, probably

Leander Starr Jameson Sir Leander Starr Jameson, 1st Baronet, (9 February 1853 – 26 November 1917), also known as Starr Jameson, was a British colonial politician, who was best known for his involvement in the ill-fated Jameson Raid. Early life and family He w ...

, Prime Minister of the Cape Colony, and Colonel Francis Rhodes who were known to be in town. Stark's legs were seriously injured by the second shell and he died shortly afterwards while undergoing

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

. Stark was buried in Ladysmith. H.W. Nevinson who was present at his burial records the irony of him being a strong opponent of the Chamberlain policy, and a vigorous denouncer of the war's injustice.

Completion of project

Stark's field notes were afterwards recovered from Ladysmith and his Durban home. His executors entrusted these to William Sclater, director of the

, to be prepared for the second volume of ''The Birds of South Africa''. This volume appeared in 1902 as part of Sclater's series ''The Fauna of South Africa''. William Sclater named '' Laniarius starki'' for him in 1901, and Captain George Shelley followed by naming

Stark's lark Stark's lark (''Spizocorys starki'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. Its natural habitats are dry savannah and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. Captain George Shelley ...

, ''Spizocorys starki'', in Stark's honour in 1902.''Birding in SA'' 42 (1), 1990, ''Whose name for the bird?'', Craig, A. William Sclater, Stark's co-author of ''The Birds of South Africa'', died in 1944 from injuries sustained from a

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb ( "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () name was Fieseler Fi 103 and its suggestive name was (hellhound). It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug a ...

dropped in London.

References

* Obituary, The Times, Friday, 8 December 1899; p. 6; Issue 36007; col D

External reference

''The Birds of South Africa (1900)'', Volume 1
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stark, Arthur 1846 births 1899 deaths People educated at Blundell's School Alumni of the University of Edinburgh British ornithologists South African ornithologists British Army personnel killed in the Second Boer War People educated at Clifton College People from Torquay