John Shortt (26 February 1822 – 24 April 1889) was an

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people are a distinct minority group, minority community of mixed-race British and Indian ancestry. During the colonial period, their ancestry was defined as British paternal and Indian maternal heritage; post-independence, "Angl ...

physician who served in the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

in southern India. He conducted research on snake venoms and wrote on a variety of other subjects including anthropology, agriculture, and animal husbandry. A species of shieldtail snake endemic to the

Shevaroy Hills The Servarayan hills, with the anglicised name Shevaroy Hills, are a towering mountain range (1620 m) near the city of Salem, in Tamil Nadu state, southern India. The local Tamil name comes from a local deity, ''Servarayan''. Geography The Serv ...

is named after him, '' Uropeltis shorttii''.

Biography

Shortt was the son of Rose (1789-1841) and John Shortt (died November 9, 1837). Shortt (senior) had joined the Madras Army as an ensign in 1760, became a Major in 1778 and retired 'invalided' as conductor of ordinance at

Vellore Vellore ( ), also spelled Velur, is a sprawling city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River and surrounded by the Javadi Hills in the northeastern ...

. Shortt (junior) was christened on 20 May 1822 at

Arcot Arcot (natively spelt as Ārkāḍu) is a town and urban area of Ranipet district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the southern banks of Palar River, the city straddles a trade route between Chennai and Bangalore or Salem, betwe ...

. He may have been among the first students trained in Madras as apothecaries before he joined the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

Service in Madras as an Assistant Apothecary on 20 January 1846. He was then sent for training in medicine to

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, and received a MD from King's College in 1854 apart from qualifying MRCS and LSA. He was supported by a sum of £400 from an officer who had been saved from cholera by Shortt. An introduction letter from Hugh Cleghorn to J.H. Balfour noted that Shortt was an "

" and that allowance be made for his "colour and manners." He also received a degree in veterinary medicine, becoming a member of the college of veterinary surgeons, Edinburgh in 1854. Returning to India, he was appointed assistant surgeon at Madras in September 1854. He served as a superintendent of vaccination for a while before being promoted Surgeon in 1866, Surgeon Major in 1873, and finally retired on 12 February 1878. He moved to

Yercaud Yercaud, also spelt Erkad, is a town and hill station in Salem District in Tamil Nadu, India. Located in Servarayan Hills in the Eastern Ghats, it is situated at an altitude of . History Stone-age implements have been found near an ancient s ...

where he remained until his death. 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 ...

in 1860. His proposers included John J. Bennet,

John Edward Gray John Edward Gray (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for a z ...

George Robert Gray George Robert Gray (8 July 1808 – 6 May 1872) was an English zoology, zoologist and author, and head of the Ornithology, ornithological section of the British Museum, now the Natural History Museum, London, Natural History Museum, London f ...

, William Baird,

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852), was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist who was widely regarded as Ireland's "National poet, national bard" during the late Georgian era. The acclaim rested primarily on the popularity of his ''I ...

and

Thomas Spencer Cobbold Thomas Spencer Cobbold Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (26 May 182810 March 1886) was an English biologist. Life He was born at Ipswich, the third son of Rev. Richard Cobbold, author of the ''History of Margaret Catchpole''. After graduating ...

. Shortt married Isabella née Cursett (died 25 May 1854 aged 22) in Madras in 1848. A daughter Isabella married John Archibald Duncan McDougall in Madras in 1872. His second wife Ellen Julia Annie née Blyth (1843 - 8 July 1865) was buried at St Mary's Cemetery, Madras. He married Annie Julia Henrietta née Rogers (1851-1909) on 9 September 1875 at Bangalore.

Scholarly contributions

While working as a superintendent of vaccines, Shortt designed a modified vaccination needle. He also translated

William Campbell Maclean William Campbell Maclean (29 November 1811 – 20 November 1898) was a Surgeon General in the Indian Medical Service. He founded the Hyderabad Medical School which later became the Osmania Medical College. He served as a professor of military medi ...

's treatise on smallpox into Tamil in 1857 and into Telugu in 1858. Shortt took a keen interest in snakes and snakebites from at least 1863 onwards. He conducted snake envenomation experiments on dogs and other animals. He examined folk remedies such as snake stones and concluded that “There is no truth in the virtues attributed to the snake stone, for it has neither the power to absorb or otherwise neutralize the snake poison from the wound.” He collected specimens of snakes, and collaborated with others who took an interest in snakebite such as

Joseph Fayrer Sir Joseph Fayrer, 1st Baronet (6 December 1824 – 21 May 1907) was a British physician who served as Surgeon General in India. He is noted for his writings on medicine, work on public health and his studies particularly on the treatment ...

to whom he sent specimens of '' Trimeresurus annamalaiensis''. He also sent specimens to

Richard Henry Beddome Colonel Richard Henry Beddome (11 May 1830 – 23 February 1911) was a British military officer and naturalist in India, who became chief conservator of the Madras Forest Department. In the mid-19th century, he extensively surveyed several ...

who described '' Uropeltis shorttii'', a shieldtail snake endemic to the Shevaroys. Shortt took an interest in the people of the regions that he worked in, writing about aboriginal tribes, festivals, Armenian settlers, devdasis, and in later life took an interest in physical anthropology. He sent 20 skulls belonging to members of the Maravar tribe to the

Anthropological Society of Paris The Society of Anthropology of Paris () is a French learned society for anthropology founded by Paul Broca in 1859. Broca served as the Secrétaire-général of SAP, and in that capacity responded to a letter from James Hunt welcoming the news tha ...

. While posted to Ganjam as a physician to the

Great Trigonometrical Survey The Great Trigonometrical Survey of India was a project that aimed to carry out a survey across the Indian subcontinent with scientific precision. It was begun in 1802 by the British infantry officer William Lambton, under the auspices of t ...

around 1855-56, he studied the local tribes. He also wrote extensively on medical topics mainly in the ''Madras Quarterly'' (later ''Monthly'') ''Journal of Medical Science''. He also treated animals in his practice, and maintained indigenous breeds of livestock and studied them. This resulted in his ''Manual of Indian Cattle and Sheep'' first published in 1876 and went into two further editions. Natural history was a major interest, he described a branching palm, the nest of the arboreal ''Crematogaster'' sp. ants, a note on the Vedanthangal heronry, plants used as food during famines, and proposed poisoning tigers in

Sathyamangalam Sathyamangalam (also known as Sathy) is a town and municipality in Erode district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the banks of the Bhavani River, Bhavani river, a tributary of the Cauvery River, Cau ...

with

strychnine Strychnine (, , American English, US chiefly ) is a highly toxicity, toxic, colorless, bitter, crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine, when inhaled, swallowed, ...

Writings

An incomplete list of his publications include: * (1860). An Essay on the Culture and Manufacture of Indigo. Madras:Smith
Scanned copy, Wellcome archives
* (1863)
Letter to Secretary of the Zoological Society on the viper Daboia elegans
Annals & Magazine of Natural History 11 (ser 3): 383–5. * (1864)
On the Domber [a caste of acrobats
/nowiki>"> caste of acrobats">On the Domber [a caste of acrobats
/nowiki> Journal of the Anthropological Society of London 2: clxxxix–cxci. * (1864). iarchive:ahandbooktocoff00shorgoog">A Hand-Book to Coffee Planting in Southern India. Madras:Pharoah & Co. * (1864). Report on the Rot in Sheep. (Proc. Madras Government, Revenue Department, July 13, 1864.) * (1864). Notes on differences in weight and stature of Europeans and some natives of India. Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London 2: 213–6. * (1865)
An account of some of the rude tribes, the supposed aborigines of Southern India
Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London 3: 373–94. * * (1865). A Popular Lecture on Vaccination. Madras. * (1865). On the Febrifuge properties of the ''Thevetia nerifolia''. The Madras Quarterly Journal of Medical Science. 294-305. * (1866)
Notice of a double-headed watersnake.
Proceedings of the Linnean Society. 9:49-50. * (1866). Description of a living Microcephale. Journal of the Anthropological Society, No. 15:181. * (1866)
An account of a religious festival, comprising leaf-wearing, and the hanging, or cheddul
Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London 4: 333–8. * (1867). An account of the ''Sclerotium stipitatum'' (Berk. et Curr.) of Southern India. Journal of the Linnean Society Botany 9: 417–9. robably ''Termitomyces''">Termitomyces.html" ;"title="robably ''Termitomyces">robably ''Termitomyces''* (1867)
The fishermen of Southern India.
Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London 5: 193–201. * (1868)
A contribution to the ethnology of Jeypore [Orissa
/nowiki>]. Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London 6: 264–81, 364. * (1869)
On the wild tribes of Southern India
Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London 7: 186–94. * (ed) (1868). An Account of the Tribes of the Neilgherries. * * (1870)
The Armenians of Southern India
Journal of Anthropology 1:180–7. * *

1870 Events January * January 1 ** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England. ** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed. * January 3 – Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge be ...

The tuckatoo and bish kopra. * (1870). Cases of snake-bite continued. Madras Monthly Journal of Medical Science 2: 7–9; 101–110; 348–50. * (1870). Note on the infection and propagation of measles. Madras Monthly Journal of Medical Science 2: 177–9. * (1870). Antidote to the cobra poison. Madras Monthly Journal of Medical Science 2: 249–52. * (1870). Habits and Manners of Marvar Tribes of India. Memoirs Anthropological Institution of London 3:201-215. otes the 20 skulls sent to the Anthropological Society of Paris* (1870). The Bayadère; or, dancing girls of Southern India. Memoirs Anthropological Institution of London 3: 182–94. escribes devadasis">devadasi.html" ;"title="escribes devadasi">escribes devadasis* * (ed) (1870[–4]). The Hill Ranges of Southern India, Parts II–IV. Madras: Higginbotham. * (1871)
On branched palms in Southern India.
Journal of the Linnean Society Botany 11:14–7. * (1871). Temporary sterility the result of disease. Madras Monthly Journal of Medical Science 3:5–10. * (1871). Review of cases of snake-bite. Madras Monthly Journal of Medical Science 3:81–91. * (1871). The cobra. Madras Monthly Journal of Medical Science 3:176–8. * (1871). Lusus naturae. Madras Monthly Journal of Medical Science 3:241–6. * (1871). On the protective power of vaccination. Madras Monthly Journal of Medical Science 3: 351–4. * (1871). Case of premature labour occurring at the eighth month, arrested after the setting in of the second stage; and subsequent delivery at the full period of gestation. Madras Monthly Journal of Medical Science 3: 420–1. * (1872). Experiments with snake (cobra) poison commenced at Combaconum, in the Tanjore District, on the 21 st September 1869. Madras Monthly Journal of Medical Science 4: 16–32; 165–76; 346–54; 426–32; 5: 199–204; 266–8. * (1872). A brief account of the tusseh silk-worm, accompanied with drawings of the insect. Madras Monthly Journal of Medical Science 5: 113–7. * (1872). Cases of snake-bite. Madras Monthly Journal of Medical Science 5:359–63. * (1873)
The Kojahs [eunuchs
of Southern India">unuchs">The Kojahs [eunuchs
of Southern India Journal of the Anthropological Institution of Great Britain and Ireland 2: 402–7. * (1874). A brief account of three microcephales. Journal of the Anthropological Institution of Great Britain and Ireland 3: 265. * (1874). A Manual of Vaccination for the Pupils of the Vaccination Department, Madras. * (1875). Report on the lists of snakes received from the Collectorates of the Madras Presidency. * (1876). A Guide in Tamil for the People’s Park, Madras. * (1876)
Description of a needle-vaccinator.
The Lancet, 1876:677-678. * (

1876 Events January * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. *January 27 – The Northampton Bank robbery occurs in Massachusetts. February * Febr ...

, 1885 Events January * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 17 – Mahdist ...

Biography

Scholarly contributions

Writings

References

External links