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Henry Seebohm (12 July 1832 – 26 November 1895) was an English steel manufacturer, and amateur
The birds of Siberia; a record of a naturalist's visits to the valleys of the Petchora and Yenesei
'' J. Murray. London. * (1893)
Geographical distribution of British birds
' * (1890)
The birds of the Japanese Empire
'' R.H. Porter, London. * (1890) ''Classification of Birds.'' R.H. Porter, London. * (1888)
The geographical distribution of the family Charadriidae, or, The plovers, sandpipers, snipes, and their allies
'' H. Sotheran. London * (1883) ''A history of British birds, with coloured illustrations of their eggs.'' R.H. Porter. London
Volume 1Volume 2Volume 3Volume 4
* (1880)
Siberia in Europe: a visit to the valley of the Petchora, in north-east Russia
'' J. Murray, London. * (1880)
Contributions to the ornithology of Siberia
'
Illustrations from ''Monograph of the Turdidae''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seebohm, Henry 1832 births 1895 deaths Businesspeople from Bradford Egg collectors English ornithologists English people of German descent Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Fellows of the Zoological Society of London Oologists Scientists from Bradford 19th-century English businesspeople
Henry Seebohm (12 July 1832 – 26 November 1895) was an English steel manufacturer, and amateur ornithologist
Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...
, oologist and traveller.
Biography
Henry was the oldest son of Benjamin Seebohm (1798–1871) who was a wool merchant at Horton Grange,Bradford
Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
. The family had moved to England from Bad Pyrmont
Bad Pyrmont (, also: ; West Low German: ) is a town in the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont, in Lower Saxony, Germany, with a population close to 19,000. It is located on the river Emmer (Weser), Emmer, about west of the Weser. Bad Pyrmont is a popul ...
in Germany. Henry's mother Estther Wheeler (1798–1864) was a granddaughter of William Tuke
William Tuke (24 March 1732 – 6 December 1822), an English tradesman, philanthropist and Quakers, Quaker, earned fame for promoting more humane custody and care for people with mental disorders, using what he called gentler methods that cam ...
. The Seebohms were active in the Society of Friends
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
and Henry schooled within the community in York. He worked initially in a grocery as an assistant but moved to Sheffield where he became a steel manufacturer. He married Maria, daughter of George John Healey, a merchant in Manchester on 19 January 1859.
Natural history
Henry became interested innatural history
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 ...
at school and continued to spend his spare time studying birds on his journeys. He travelled widely visiting Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
, Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
, Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, and South Africa. His expeditions to the Yenisey
The Yenisey or Yenisei ( ; , ) is the list of rivers by length, fifth-longest river system in the world, and the largest to drain into the Arctic Ocean.
Rising in Mungaragiyn-gol in Mongolia, it follows a northerly course through Lake Baikal a ...
tundra
In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: #Arctic, Arctic, Alpine tundra, Alpine, and #Antarctic ...
of Siberia
Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
were described in his two books, ''Siberia in Europe'' (1880) and ''Siberia in Asia'' (1882), which were combined in the posthumous publication ''The Birds of Siberia'' (1901). His expeditions included the lower Pechora River in 1875 along with John Alexander Harvie-Brown as well as a visit to Heligoland
Heligoland (; , ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , ) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. The islands were historically possessions of Denmark, then became possessions of the United Kingdom from 1807 to 1890. Since 1890, the ...
at the home of Heinrich Gätke. In 1877 he joined Joseph Wiggins
Joseph Wiggins Royal Geographical Society, FRGS (3 September 1832 – 13 September 1905) was an English people, English mariner, born at Norwich into a family of mailcoach operators.
He rounded out a successful career as a sea captain by utili ...
to Siberia.
He was one of the first European ornithologists to accept the American trinomial system to classify sub-species.
Seebohm's other publications included ''A History of British Birds'' (1883), ''The Geographical Distribution of the family Charadriidae'' (1887), ''The Birds of the Japanese Empire'' (1890) and ''A Monograph of the Turdidae'' (1902, completed by Richard Bowdler Sharpe
Richard Bowdler Sharpe (22 November 1847 – 25 December 1909) was an English people, English zoologist and ornithology, ornithologist who worked as curator of the bird collection at the British Museum of natural history. In the course of his car ...
).
Seebohm bequeathed his collection of bird-skins to the British Museum. The collection which was received in 1896 consisted of nearly 17,000 specimens. A number of birds were named after Seebohm, including the grey emutail (''Dromaeocercus seebohmi'') by Bowdler Sharpe. A portrait of Seebohm in oil by Hugh Ford Crighton is held by Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
Museums.
Bibliography
* (1901)The birds of Siberia; a record of a naturalist's visits to the valleys of the Petchora and Yenesei
'' J. Murray. London. * (1893)
Geographical distribution of British birds
' * (1890)
The birds of the Japanese Empire
'' R.H. Porter, London. * (1890) ''Classification of Birds.'' R.H. Porter, London. * (1888)
The geographical distribution of the family Charadriidae, or, The plovers, sandpipers, snipes, and their allies
'' H. Sotheran. London * (1883) ''A history of British birds, with coloured illustrations of their eggs.'' R.H. Porter. London
Volume 1
* (1880)
Siberia in Europe: a visit to the valley of the Petchora, in north-east Russia
'' J. Murray, London. * (1880)
Contributions to the ornithology of Siberia
'
References
Further reading
* The book was edited and published by RB Sharpe after Seebohm's death. Sharpe included a biography of Seebohm entitled ''Memoir'' at the beginning of the volume.External links
Illustrations from ''Monograph of the Turdidae''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seebohm, Henry 1832 births 1895 deaths Businesspeople from Bradford Egg collectors English ornithologists English people of German descent Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Fellows of the Zoological Society of London Oologists Scientists from Bradford 19th-century English businesspeople