Sir Andrew Smith (3 December 1797 – 11 August 1872) was a British

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

, explorer,

ethnologist Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Scien ...

and

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

. He is considered the father of zoology in South Africa having described many species across a wide range of groups in his major work, ''Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa''. Smith was born in

Hawick Hawick ( ; ; ) is a town in the Scottish Borders council areas of Scotland, council area and counties of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east o ...

, Roxburghshire. He qualified in medicine 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 ...

obtaining an

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

degree in 1819, having joined the

Army Medical Services The Army Medical Services (AMS) is the organisation responsible for administering the corps that deliver medical, veterinary, dental and nursing services in the British Army. It is headquartered at the former Staff College, Camberley, near the ...

in 1816.

South Africa 1820–1837

In 1820 he was ordered to the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

and was sent to

Grahamstown Makhanda, formerly known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 75,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Gqeberha and southwest of East London. It is the largest town in the Makana Local Mun ...

to supervise the medical care of European soldiers and soldiers of the Cape Corps. He was appointed the Albany district surgeon in 1822 and started the first free dispensary for indigent patients in South Africa. He led a scientific expedition into the interior and was able to indulge in his interests of natural history and anthropology. On several occasions, he was sent by governors on confidential missions to visit Bantu tribes beyond the frontier, such as his trip to

Kaffraria Kaffraria, Kaffiria, or Kaffirland, was the descriptive name given to the southeast part of what is today the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Kaffraria, i.e., the land of the Kaffirs, is no longer an official designation (with the term ''kaffi ...

in 1824 when he made copious notes on the customs of the

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

tribes. In 1825 the Governor of the Cape Colony,

Lord Charles Somerset Lord Charles Henry Somerset PC (12 December 1767 – 18 February 1831), born in Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it ma ...

, nominated Smith as the first Superintendent of the South African Museum of natural history in

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 ...

. In 1828 Smith was sent to Namaqualand by Lieutenant-Governor of the Eastern District of the Cape of Good Hope

Richard Bourke General Sir Richard Bourke, KCB (4 May 1777 – 12 August 1855) was an Irish soldier, who served in the British Army and was Governor of New South Wales from 1831 to 1837. As a lifelong Whig (liberal), he encouraged the emancipation of con ...

to report on the

Bushmen The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are the members of any of the indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures of southern Africa, and the Indigenous peoples of Africa, oldest surviving cultures of the region. They are thought to have diverged fro ...

there. As a result, Smith wrote ''On the origin and history of the Bushmen'' in 1831. In the same year of 1831, there were rumours of serious unrest in the east, causing Governor Sir Lowry Cole to send Smith to

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

in January 1832. Here he interviewed

Dingaan Dingane Dingane ka Senzangakhona Zulu (–29 January 1840), commonly referred to as Dingane, Dingarn or Dingaan, was a Zulu prince who became king of the Zulu Kingdom in 1828, after assassinating his half-brother Shaka Zulu. He set up his roya ...

and reported back to Cole, arousing a great deal of interest in the business world of the Cape. It was mainly his report that caused Britain to annex

Port Natal Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South Africa, on the Natal Bay o ...

in 1844 and turn it into a Crown colony. Similarly in 1833 the reports of traders from North of the

Orange River The Orange River (from Afrikaans/Dutch language, Dutch: ''Oranjerivier'') is a river in Southern Africa. It is the longest river in South Africa. With a total length of , the Orange River Basin extends from Lesotho into South Africa and Namibi ...

led to an 18-month-long expedition by Andrew to

Basutoland Basutoland was a British Crown colony that existed from 1884 to 1966 in present-day Lesotho, bordered with the Cape Colony, Natal Colony and Orange River Colony until 1910 and completely surrounded by South Africa from 1910. Though the Basot ...

Kuruman Kuruman is a small town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is known for its scenery and the Eye of Kuruman, a geological feature that brings water from deep underground. The abundance of water produces an unexpected swathe of green ...

, the headquarters of

Mzilikazi Mzilikazi Moselekatse, Khumalo ( 1790 – 9 September 1868) was a Southern African king who founded the Ndebele Kingdom now called Matebeleland which is now part of Zimbabwe. His name means "the great river of blood". He was born the son of M ...

and as far north as the

Magaliesberg The Magaliesberg (historically also known as ''Macalisberg'' or ''Cashan Mountains'') of northern South Africa, is a modest but well-defined mountain range composed mainly of quartzites. It rises at a point south of the Pilanesberg (and the ...

Charles Davidson Bell Charles Davidson Bell FRSE (22 October 1813 – 7 April 1882) was a Scottish-born artist who spent the majority of his life in the Cape Colony. In addition to serving as the Surveyor-General of the colony, he was also a heraldist who designed ...

going along as expedition artist. Smith returned with two of Mzilikazi's izinDuna who forged an alliance with the Cape Colony on behalf of their chief. Smith's ''Report of the expedition for exploring Central Africa'' was published in 1836. Except for two short reports that appeared after his return to Cape Town from the interior in 1836, no detailed account of his travels was ever published. Smith's diary, however, was later edited by Percival R. Kirby and published by the

Van Riebeeck Society Historical Publications Southern Africa (HiPSA) is a South African text publication society which publishes or republishes primary sources relating to southern African history. It was founded in 1918 as the Van Riebeeck Society for the Publicati ...

in 1939–40 as Nos. 20 and 21 of their first series, under the title ''The Diary of Dr. Andrew Smith, Director of the 'Expedition for Exploring Central Africa', 1834–36.'' (.) Smith met the young geologist

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

when the second voyage of the ''Beagle'' touched at the Cape in May 1836, and showed him slate rock formations. He also gave Darwin some rock samples he had collected the year before. These are now held by the

Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, is the geology museum of the University of Cambridge. It is part of the Department of Earth Sciences and is located on the university's Downing Site in Downing Street, central Cambridge, England. The Sedg ...

. Darwin and Smith corresponded about how the large animals in South Africa lived on sparse vegetation, showing that a lack of luxuriant vegetation did not explain the extinction of the giant creatures whose fossils Darwin had found in South America. Darwin frequently mentioned Smith in his writings, and sponsored him to gain membership of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1857.

Britain 1837–1872

Smith returned to the United Kingdom in January 1837 and shortly afterward started publishing the five volumes making up ''Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa'' (1838–50). He advanced rapidly through the ranks of the medical service, becoming staff surgeon and principal medical officer at Fort Pitt, Chatham in 1841.Smith, Sir Andrew (1797–1872), army medical officer and naturalist
by Dane Kennedy in

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

online (accessed 21 July 2008) In 1844 he married his housekeeper Ellen Henderson and converted to her Roman Catholic faith. In 1845 he became assistant to Sir James McGrigor, the director-general of the army medical department, becoming Director-General of the

in 1853 when Sir James retired. He was responsible for the organizing of medical services during the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

, amidst serious charges of inefficiency and incompetence from ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' and

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...

. A commission of inquiry exonerated him and he received honours from universities and learned societies. Ill-health forced his resignation, he was succeeded by Thomas Alexander, in 1858 when he was created

Knight Commander of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior military officers or senior civil servants, and the monarch awards it on the advice of His ...

Animals named after Andrew Smith

Andrew Smith is commemorated in the

scientific names In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

of three

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of reptiles.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Smith, Andrew", pp. 246–247). *''

Gekko smithii ''Gekko'' is a genus of Southeast Asian geckos, commonly known as true geckos or calling geckos, in the family Gekkonidae. Although species such as ''Gekko gecko'' (tokay gecko) are very widespread and common, some species in the same genus hav ...

'', a

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards ...

*''

Lepidophyma smithii ''Lepidophyma smithii'', Smith's tropical night lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Xantusiidae. It is a small lizard found in Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador. They live in small caves with scarce levels of food and nutrients. Due to ...

'', a lizard *''

Pangshura smithii The brown roofed turtle (''Pangshura smithii'') is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae. The species is endemic to South Asia. Two subspecies are recognized. Etymology The specific name, ''smithii'', is in honor of Scottish zoologist A ...

'', a freshwater turtle He is also honoured in the names of the following birds: *

Cape shoveler The Cape shoveler or Cape shoveller (''Spatula smithii'') is a species of dabbling duck of the genus ''Spatula''. It is resident in South Africa, and uncommon further north in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, southern Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, an ...

(''Spatula smithi'') *

Karoo thrush The Karoo thrush (''Turdus smithi''), also known as Smith's thrush, is a member of the thrush family in Africa. It has traditionally been considered a subspecies of the olive thrush (with which it is known to hybridize), but is increasingly trea ...

(''Turdus smithi'') *

Annobón paradise flycatcher The red-bellied paradise flycatcher (''Terpsiphone rufiventer''), also known as the black-headed paradise flycatcher, is a medium-sized passerine bird of the family of monarch flycatchers. It is native to intra-tropical forests of Africa. The ma ...

(''Terpsiphone smithii'') * 3 species of African broadbills in the genus '' Smithornis''

Correspondence with Charles Darwin

16 March 1839
*
1862 1867
*
17 Apr 1871 16 May 1871
*
Anderson, L. I. (2009) Charles Darwin and Andrew Smith: an overseas exchange. Scottish Journal of Geology, 45, 59 -68.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Andrew Scottish zoologists Scottish ornithologists 1797 births 1872 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society Scottish surgeons British Army personnel of the Crimean War Royal Army Medical Corps officers Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Converts to Roman Catholicism People from Hawick Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century British zoologists

South Africa 1820–1837

Britain 1837–1872

See also

Animals named after Andrew Smith

Correspondence with Charles Darwin

Footnotes