Charles John Cornish (28 September 1858 – 30 January 1906) was an English naturalist and writer.

Life

Born on 28 September 1858 at Salcombe House, near

Sidmouth Sidmouth () is a town on the English Channel in Devon, South West England, southeast of Exeter. With a population of 13,258 in 2021, it is a tourist resort and a gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. A large part of the town has ...

, the residence of his grandfather, Charles John Cornish, J.P., D.L., was eldest son of Charles John Cornish, then curate of Sidbury,

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, by his first wife, Anne Charlotte Western (died 1887). He was brought up at

Debenham Debenham is a village and civil parish located north of Ipswich in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Pub ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, where his father became vicar in 1859. In 1872 he entered

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

as a gown-boy, and left in 1876. After time as a private tutor, he entered

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...

, as a commoner in 1881, was elected Brunsell exhibitioner in 1882 and Lusby scholar in 1883. In the same year he obtained a

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

in association football, a second class in classical moderations in 1883, and a second class in '' literae humaniores'' in 1885. In 1885, Cornish was appointed assistant classical master at

St Paul's School, London St Paul's School is a Selective school, selective Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent day school (with limited boarding school, boarding) for boys aged 13–18, founded in 1509 by John Colet and located on a 43-acre site by Rive ...

, a position he held for the rest of his life. Soon after coming to London he began to write articles on natural history and country life, and in 1890 became a regular contributor to ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'', and later to '' Country Life''. Cornish lived at Orford House, Chiswick Mall, beside the river Thames, when he wrote ''The Naturalist on the Thames'' in 1902.Orford House lies on Chiswick Mall (). Cornish lived there in 1900 () and in 1902 (). Cornish died at

Worthing Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...

on 30 January 1906, the cause originating in a shooting accident many years before. After cremation his ashes were interred at Salcombe Regis, near Sidmouth, and a mural tablet to his memory was placed in the parish church.

Works

Many of Cornish's articles re-appeared in book form. He wrote:
''The New Forest''
1894.
''The Isle of Wight''
1895.
''Life at the Zoo''
A work which made him widely known,1895
''Wild England of To-day, and the Wild Life in it''
1895. * ''Animals at Work and Play'', 1896.2nd edition, 1897

''Nights with an Old Gunner''
1897. * Cornish 1898
online copy
in BHL an
online copy
in Internet Archive. There is also an edition of 1899, published in London and New York (see e.g.
online copy
an
another online copy
in HathiTrust Digital Library). See the review in: ''

The Zoologist ''The Zoologist'' was a monthly natural history magazine established in 1843 by Edward Newman and published in London. Newman acted as editor-in-chief until his death in 1876, when he was succeeded, first by James Edmund Harting (1876–1896 ...

'', 4th series, vol. 3 (1899), issue 691 (January), p. 36/7.
''The Naturalist on the Thames''
1902.
''Sir William Henry Flower, a Personal Memoir''
1904. He collaborated with others in ''Living Animals of the World'' (2 vols. 1901-2). ''Animal Artisans and other Studies of Birds and Beasts'', with a memoir by his widow, was published in 1907.

Family

Cornish married in 1893 Edith, eldest daughter of

John Isaac Thornycroft Sir John Isaac Thornycroft (1 February 1843 – 28 June 1928) was an English shipbuilder, the founder of the Thornycroft shipbuilding company and member of the Thornycroft family. Early life He was born in 1843 to Mary Francis and Thom ...

, by whom he had one daughter.

Notes

;Attribution

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornish, Charles John 1858 births 1906 deaths Schoolteachers from Devon English naturalists 19th-century English non-fiction writers 20th-century English non-fiction writers English nature writers People from Sidmouth People from Mid Suffolk District People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford The Spectator people Firearm accident victims Deaths by firearm in England Accidental deaths in England