William Evans

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

FFA FSA MBOU (1851–1922) was a Scottish naturalist, ornithologist and actuary. He was described as one of the most competent field naturalists of his day. He served as President of the

Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh The Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh was a learned society based in Edinburgh, Scotland "for the cultivation of the physical sciences". The society was founded in 1771 as the Physico-Chirurgical Society but soon after changed its name to the ...

Life

He was born at the

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

(presumably in the East Lodge), where his father, William Wilson Evans, was Curator, on 9 May 1851. After a wonderful early exposure to botany, his family moved in 1857 to Tynefield Farm near

East Linton East Linton is a village and former police burgh in East Lothian, Scotland, situated on the River Tyne, Scotland, River Tyne and A199 road (former A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road) five miles east of Haddington, East Lothian, Haddington, with ...

(east of Edinburgh) where his interests continued with a more practical vein. Here though, he came under the influence of Charles Nelson of Pitcox, who extended his interests from plant life to birds, William also taking a keen interest in sculpting birds from wood from this time. During this time he was educated at the Free Kirk School in East Linton. William also spent some later years with his uncle at Buckstone Farm near

Mortonhall Mortonhall is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, on the south edge of the city. The area is along the western end of the Frogston Road between Fairmilehead and Gilmerton, Edinburgh, Gilmerton; it is just to the south of Liberton, Scotland, Liber ...

, Edinburgh (the farm now giving rise to the name of one of Edinburgh's suburbs). Around 1865 his father received an appointment as Agent and Factor on the estate of

Sir George Clerk of Penicuik Sir George Clerk of Pennycuik, 6th Baronet (19 November 1787 – 23 December 1867) was a Scottish politician who served as the Tory MP for Edinburghshire, Stamford and Dover. Early life Clerk was born near Edinburgh on 19 November 178 ...

and the family therefore moved to

Penicuik Penicuik ( ; ; ) is a town and former Police burgh, burgh in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the west bank of the River Esk, Lothian, River North Esk. It lies on the A701 road, A701 midway between Edinburgh and Peebles, east of the Pentland Hil ...

(south of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

). William was then sent to the Edinburgh Institution (now

Stewart's Melville College Stewart's Melville College (SMC) is all-boys' Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland. Classes are all boys in the 1st to 5th years and co-educational in Sixth (final) year. It has a roll of about 750 p ...

) for further schooling. At age 17 (in 1868) he was apprenticed as an actuary in the

Scottish Widows Scottish Widows Limited is a life insurance, pensions and investment company based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is a part of Lloyds Banking Group. The company has been providing financial services to the UK market since 1815 and its product range ...

Fund. By 1892 he had reached the level of Assistant Actuary to the Fund, but had to retire due to ill-health. Curiously, his election as a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

in 1884 is minuted as being due to his actuarial skills rather than naturalist skills. His proposers were Robert Gray, Thomas Bond Sprague,

John MacGregor McCandlish John MacGregor McCandlish Writer to the Signet, WS FRSE (1821–1901) was a Scottish lawyer and actuary. He was the first president of the Faculty of Actuaries. Life He was born at 17 Minto Street in south Edinburgh on 12 January 1821 the son ...

, and Sir Peter Redford Scott. In later life he lived at 38 Morningside Park in south-west Edinburgh. In the later 19th century he conducted a correspondence with the German ornithologist

Ernst Hartert Ernst Johann Otto Hartert (29 October 1859 – 11 November 1933) was a widely published German ornithologist. Life and career Hartert was born in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg on 29 October 1859. In July 1891, he married the illustrat ...

, these documents are now held in the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum (Lo ...

. He died on 23 October 1922.

Family

In 1879 he married Patricia Jane Deuchar (1849–1921). They had one son, William Edgar Evans (1882-1963), and one daughter, Charlotte E. Evans. William Edgar Evans followed in his father's footsteps becoming a botanist and Assistant in Charge of the Herbarium at the

from 1919 to 1944. He was also a Fellow of the

Publications

*''The Mammalian Fauna of the Edinburgh District'' (1906)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, William 1851 births 1922 deaths Scottish naturalists Scottish ornithologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh British actuaries Fellows_of_the_Society_of_Antiquaries_of_London