Lieutenant Colonel Edward Frederick Kelaart (21 November 1819 – 31 August 1860) was a

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

ese-born

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

. He made some of the first systematic studies from the region and described many plants and animals from

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Biography

Edward Frederick (sometimes spelt Fredric) Kelaart was born on 21 November 1819 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The family was of Dutch and German heritage. He was the oldest son of William Henry Kelaart and Anna Frederika. William worked as an assistant

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is an Early Modern English, archaic English term for a medicine, medical professional who formulates and dispenses ''materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern terms ''pharmacist'' and, in Brit ...

to the forces. The family had settled in Sri Lanka around 1726. At the age of sixteen, Edward joined the Ceylon government as a medical assistant. In 1838 he went to study 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 ...

, receiving an MD from the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ...

in 1841. He returned to Ceylon to become a Staff Assistant Surgeon in the Army in 1841 and was posted in 1843 to

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

as an Army Surgeon. He published ''Flora Calpensis'', the

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

of Gibraltar, in 1845. He was elected Fellow of the

Linnean 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 ...

on 17 February 1846, seconded by J. D. Hooker and Ray Lankester. In 1848, he returned to Ceylon and began making systematic studies. He was also a member of the

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe, with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

, although he did not publish on the topic. Promoted Staff Surgeon in 1852, he travelled around Sri Lanka and especially studied the highland regions of

Nuwara Eliya Nuwara Eliya ( ; ) is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means "city on the plain (table land)" or "city of light". The city is the administrative capital of Nuwara Eliya District, with a picturesque landsc ...

. He made large collections of reptiles at Nuwara Eliya and sent them to the museum curator-zoologist

Edward Blyth Edward Blyth (23 December 1810 – 27 December 1873) was an English zoologist who worked for most of his life in India as a curator of zoology at the Asiatic Society, Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal in Calcutta. He set about updating the museum ...

. In 1856 he was made Naturalist to the Government of Ceylon. His first work was to study the pearl fisheries. His taxonomic contributions included the description of 16 species of

Turbellaria The Turbellaria are one of the traditional sub-divisions of the phylum Platyhelminthes (flatworms), and include all the sub-groups that are not exclusively parasitic. There are about 4,500 species, which range from to large freshwater forms mo ...

, 22 species of

Actiniaria Sea anemones ( ) are a group of predatory marine invertebrates constituting the order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the '' Anemone'', a terrestrial flowering plant. Sea anemones are classified in the phy ...

and 63 species of Nudibranchia. In 1852 he published ''Prodromus faunae Zeylanicae'', on the Ceylonese vertebrate fauna. Kelaart died aboard the S.S. ''Ripon'' on the way to England on 31 August 1860 and was buried at

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. A bust of Kelaart was made by sculptor Henry Weigall. Two species of birds found in Sri Lanka are named after him: the

black-throated munia The black-throated munia or Jerdon's mannikin (''Lonchura kelaarti'') is a small passerine bird. This estrildid finch is a resident breeding bird in the hills of southwest India, the Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats and Sri Lanka. Habitat The b ...

(''Lonchura kelaarti'') and the hawk-eagle ''

Nisaetus kelaarti William Vincent Legge, Legge's hawk-eagle (''Nisaetus kelaarti'') is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae. It breeds in the Indian subcontinent, from southern India to Sri Lanka. Its specific name (zoology), specific ...

''. The Sri Lankan subspecies of

jungle nightjar The jungle nightjar (''Caprimulgus indicus'') is a species of nightjar found in the Indian Subcontinent. It is found mainly on the edge of forests where it is seen or heard at dusk. The taxonomy of this and related nightjars is complex and a rang ...

, ''Caprimulgus indicus kelaarti'', also refers to Kelaart. The disused

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus '' Kelaartia'' (yellow-eared bulbul) likewise commemorated him. Toad ''

Adenomus kelaartii ''Adenomus kelaartii'' (Kelaart's toad or Kelaart's dwarf toad) is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka, where it is found in the south-west of the island at elevations between 30 and 1,230 m. The specific na ...

'' is also named after him.

Bibliography

* (1846
''Flora calpensis; contributions to the botany and topography of Gibraltar, and its neighbourhood''
* (1853
''Prodromus Faunæ Zeylanicæ ; being Contributions to the Zoology of Ceylon''
* (1854
''Descriptions of new or little-known species of Reptiles collected in Ceylon''. Annals and Magazine of Natural History
(2) 13: 25-30. * (1854
''Catalogue of the Reptiles collected in Ceylon''
Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 13:137-140. * (1857) ''Introductory Report on the natural history of the Pearl Oyster of Ceylon'' * (1859) ''Contributions to Marine Zoology; being descriptions of Ceylon Nudibranchiate Molluscs, Sea Anemones and Entozoa'', Colombo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelaart 1819 births 1860 deaths 19th-century zoologists Sri Lankan biologists People from British Ceylon Sri Lankan medical doctors 19th-century naturalists 19th-century physicians Sri Lankan environmentalists