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Charles Francis Massy Swynnerton CMG (3 December 1877 – 8 June 1938) was an English naturalist noted for his contributions to

tsetse fly Tsetse ( , or ) (sometimes spelled tzetze; also known as tik-tik flies) are large, biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. Tsetse flies include all the species in the genus ''Glossina'', which are placed in their own family, Gloss ...

research. Swynnerton was born in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

on 3 December 1877. His father was a senior chaplain in the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

, and his mother the daughter of Major W. H. Massy, of Grantstown Hall,

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

. Swynnerton spent his early years in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, returning to England to start his schooling at

Lancing College Lancing College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18 in southern England, UK. The school is located in West S ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. In 1897 he was accepted at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, but emigrated to Africa instead. In

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 ( ...

he met the renowned entomologist and authority on

Curculionidae The Curculionidae are a family of weevils, commonly called snout beetles or true weevils. They are one of the largest animal families with 6,800 genera and 83,000 species described worldwide. They are the sister group to the family Brentidae. Th ...

Guy Anstruther Knox Marshall Sir Guy Anstruther Knox Marshall FRS (20 December 1871 in Amritsar, Punjab – 8 April 1959 in London), was an Indian-born British entomologist. He was an expert on African and oriental weevils.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (201 ...

(1871–1959), who owned some farms in

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

and persuaded Swynnerton to manage one of these in the

Melsetter Chimanimani, originally known as Melsetter, is a town in Zimbabwe. Location Chimanimani is a village located in Manicaland Province, in south-eastern Zimbabwe, close to the border with Mozambique. The village lies about , by road, south of Mu ...

district. In 1900 he became manager of Gungunyana Farm close to the

Chirinda Forest The Chirinda Forest Botanical Reserve is situated on the slopes of Mount Selinda, south of Chipinge, in the Chipinge Highlands of Manicaland, Zimbabwe, and is administered by the Forestry Commission. The reserve is situated at between in alt ...

in the

Chipinga Chipinge District is a district in Manicaland Province of eastern Zimbabwe. The administrative headquarters is Chipinge. Geography Chipinge District is the southernmost district in Manicaland province. It is bounded on the north by Chimanimani ...

District - this farm was also bought by Guy Marshall in 1902. Despite his lack of formal scientific education he began a career which would end with serious international recognition as an entomologist.''Clement Gillman, 1882-1946: Biographical Notes on a Pioneer East African Geographer''.

East African Geographical Review The ''African Geographical Review'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the American Association of Geographers' Africa Specialty Group. The journal was originally established in 1963 at Makerer ...

. Makerere:

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

. Hoyle, Brian S. pp.116. . . . . For the following 19 years Swynnerton used the farm as a base and worked on comprehensive collections of plants, birds and insects, the plants being written up later in 1911 in ''J. Linn. Soc. (Bot.)'' 40:1-245 as ''Flora of

Gazaland Gazaland is the historical name for the region in southeast Africa, in modern-day Mozambique and Zimbabwe, which extends northward from the Komati River at Maputo Bay, Delagoa Bay in Mozambique's Maputo Province to the Pungwe River in central Mo ...

''. The

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

was a regular recipient of his plant and insect specimens which were lauded for displaying ''"a precision in localisation and notes on economic uses which made this collection a model one"''. He was elected a Fellow of the

Linnaean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collec ...

in 1907. From the farm he made a number of collecting trips to the nearby

Chimanimani Chimanimani, originally known as Melsetter, is a town in Zimbabwe. Location Chimanimani is a village located in Manicaland Province, in south-eastern Zimbabwe, close to the border with Mozambique. The village lies about , by road, south of Mu ...

Mountains. During this period Guy Marshall became chief editor of the ''

Bulletin of Entomological Research Bulletin or The Bulletin may refer to: Periodicals (newspapers, magazines, journals) * ''Bulletin'' (online newspaper), a Swedish online newspaper * ''The Bulletin'' (Australian periodical), an Australian magazine (1880–2008) ** Bulletin Deb ...

'' and remained a close friend and mentor to Swynnerton.Flora of Zimbabwe
/ref> He was primarily interested in the

ecological interaction In ecology, a biological interaction is the effect that a pair of organisms living together in a community have on each other. They can be either of the same species (intraspecific interactions), or of different species (interspecific interaction ...

s of the

(''Glossina''). The Rhodesian government appointed him in 1918 to research the

problem, later that year extending his brief to also cover

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. In 1919 he was appointed as the first game warden of Tanganyika, again with a brief to investigate the tsetse situation, becoming the first director of Tanganyika's tsetse control department, and Director of Tsetse Research at

Shinyanga Shinyanga, also known as Mji wa Shinyanga in the national language, is a city in northern Tanzania. The city is the location of the regional headquarters of Shinyanga Region as well as the district headquarters of Shinyanga Urban District. The r ...

ten years later. His career trajectory resembles that of

Clement Gillman Clement or Clément may refer to: People * Clement (name), a given name and surname * Saint Clement (disambiguation)#People Places * Clément, French Guiana, a town * Clement, Missouri, U.S. * Clement Township, Michigan, U.S. * Clement's P ...

, also known for east African field work. In 1937 he was awarded the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

. However, on 8 June 1938, on his way to receiving the award, he died in a

de Havilland Leopard Moth The de Havilland DH.85 Leopard Moth is a three-seat high-wing cabin monoplane designed and built by the De Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company in 1933. Design and construction It was a successor to the De Havilland Puss Moth, DH.80 Puss M ...

plane crash near Mjari in Tanganyika. His obituary in ''

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

'' was penned by Sir Guy Marshall.

Patronymic taxa

Swynnerton is commemorated by the genus '' Swynnertonia'' (Swynnerton's robin) and in some 40 specific plant names, as well as bird and insect names. Also, a species of African

worm lizard Amphisbaenia (called amphisbaenians or worm lizards) is a group of typically legless lizards, comprising over 200 extant species. Amphisbaenians are characterized by their long bodies, the reduction or loss of the limbs, and rudimentary eyes. As ...

, '' Chirindia swynnertoni'', the cichlid ''

Astatotilapia swynnertoni ''Astatotilapia swynnertoni'' is a species of haplochromine cichlid which is found in the rivers of Mozambique from the Buzi and lower Pungwe rivers south to the Save River. The specific name honours the English naturalist Charles Francis M ...

'', and ''

Glossina Tsetse ( , or ) (sometimes spelled tzetze; also known as tik-tik flies) are large, biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. Tsetse flies include all the species in the genus ''Glossina'', which are placed in their own family, Glos ...

swynnertoni'' are named in his honour.

External links

Photo of memorial plaque

Works

*1911 ''Flora of Gazaland'' - Linnaean Society * *''Vernacular Names of East African Mammals'' - edited by C.F.M. Swynnerton, Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London, 84, p. 547-552

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swynnerton, Charles Francis Massey Botanists with author abbreviations People educated at Lancing College English naturalists Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Fellows of the Linnean Society of London 1877 births 1938 deaths People from Lowestoft Accidental deaths in Tanzania British emigrants to Southern Rhodesia British people in colonial India Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1938 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Tanzania