Joseph Isaac Spadafora Whitaker (19 March 1850 in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

– 3 November 1936 in Rome) was a Sicilian-English

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 ...

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and sportsman. He was a member of the Whitaker family. He is mainly known for his work on the birds of

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

, and for being involved in the foundation of the Sicilian football club US Città di Palermo. He was married to the author and hostess Tina Scalia Whitaker.

Biography

Whitaker's family came from

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

in west Yorkshire.Whitaker Family
/ref> He inherited the Ingham

Marsala wine Marsala is a fortified wine, dry or sweet, produced in the region surrounding the Italian city of Marsala in Sicily. Marsala first received ''Denominazione di Origine Controllata'' (DOC) status in 1969. The European Union grants Protected d ...

business through his paternal grandmother, Mary Ingham, whose brother Benjamin (1784-1861) went into business in Palermo. The Inghams were from Ossett in Yorkshire - there is an Ossett website which gives a detailed biography of the Ingham Marsala Wine co. He and his brother William Ingham Whitaker (Pylewell Park) inherited vast vineyards and his great grandfather Ingham's banking empire. Their story is told in Raleigh Trevelyan's 1972 ''Princes Under the Volcano: Two Hundred Years of a British Dynasty in Sicily''.

Marriage and children

Joseph Whitaker married Tina Scalia. She was the daughter of General Alfonso Scalia, who landed in Sicily with

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

during the years leading up to the

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...

. Choosing to settle in

over the more provincial

Marsala Marsala (, ; ) is an Italian comune located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth largest in Sicily.The town is famous for the docking of Giuseppe Garibal ...

, the couple built as their family home the '' Villa Malfitano'', an

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

mansion near Zisa Castle on the Via Dante. In these years, the

Belle Époque The Belle Époque () or La Belle Époque () was a period of French and European history that began after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and continued until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era of the Fr ...

age, the house was the venue for lavish parties attended by British and Italian royalty and celebrated European society. Tina Whitaker knew

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

, the Kaiser and

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

, Empress Eugenie and Queen Mary. She unwittingly found herself in a circle involved in the Irish Crown Jewels scandal. In 1907 she published ''Sicily & England: Political and Social Reminiscences 1848-1870''. The couple had two daughters; the elder of whom married General Antonio Di Giorgio(1868-1932), a Minister of War who fought in the 1st and 2nd wars in Abyssinia. Thus the family was firmly established in the upper echelons of Italian Society.

Adult life

Whitaker himself was founder and president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at Palermo, and also he was a major figure in the foundation of US Città di Palermo in the later 1880s, becoming the first president of the football club.

Birds

In 1891 already a very keen ornithologist Whitaker joined the

British Ornithologists' Union The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds (ornithology) around the world in order to understand their biology and aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry Baker ...

. Collecting expeditions to Tunisia followed. These extended over a period of ten years (1894–1904). Notebooks kept at the time contain information on the natural history of the birds as well as other fauna and also 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 Tunisia. The Tunisian bird and bird nest and egg collection was housed in a villa in the grounds of his home "Malfitano" alongside a very complete collection of Sicilian birds and collections made on his behalf by Edward Dobson in Morocco. To these were added specimens of birds from the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

littoral. Some of Whitaker's collection of Tunisian birds are in the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

, London. The Sicilian birds are divided between the Royal Scottish Museum (bird skins) and the Ulster Museum (bird mounts, eggs and nests).

Gallery of Birds in the Whitaker Collection

Image:Egyptian Nightjar.jpg, '' Egyptian nightjar'' Image:Baillon's Crake.jpg, '' Baillon's crake'' Image:Great BustardLg1438.jpeg, ''

Great bustard The great bustard (''Otis tarda'') is a bird in the bustard family, and the only living member of the genus ''Otis (bird), Otis''. It breeds in open grasslands and farmland from northern Morocco, South Europe, South and Central Europe to temperat ...

'' Image:Glossy Ibis Lg1300.jpeg, ''

Glossy ibis The glossy ibis (''Plegadis falcinellus'') is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek ''plegados'' and Latin, ''falcis'', both meaning "sickle" a ...

'' Image:Eurasian WryneckLg670.jpeg, '' Eurasian wryneck'' Image:Eurasian Thic-kneeLg1285.jpeg, '' Eurasian thick-knee'' Image:Egyptian VultureLg1605.jpeg, '' Egyptian vulture'' Image:White-winged snowfinch Lg741.jpeg, '' White-winged snowfinch'' Image:Spotted Sandgrouse.jpeg, '' Spotted sandgrouse'' Image:Wall Creeper.jpeg, '' Wallcreeper'' Image:White-winged Tern.jpeg, '' White-winged tern'' Image:Short-toed Snake Eagle.jpeg, '' Short-toed snake eagle'' Image:Rustic Bunting.jpeg, '' Dusky thrush'' Image:Rosy Starling.jpeg, '' Rosy starling'' Image:Rock Partridge.jpeg, '' Rock partridge'' Image:Rock Bunting.jpeg, '' Rock bunting'' Image:Greater Spotted Eagle.jpeg, '' Greater spotted eagle'' Image:Grey-headed Woodpecker.jpeg, '' Grey-headed woodpecker'' Image:Red-footed Falcon.jpeg, '' Red-footed falcon'' Image:Red Crossbill.jpeg, '' Red crossbill'' Image:Pallid Harrier.jpeg, ''

Pallid harrier The pallid harrier (''Circus macrourus'') is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier subfamily. The scientific name is derived from the Ancient Greek. ''Circus'' is from ''kirkos'' (circle), referring to a bird of prey named for its circling fl ...

'' Image:Middle-spotted Woodpecker.jpeg, '' Middle spotted woodpecker'' Image:Long-tailed Tit.jpeg, '' Long-tailed tit'' Image:Little Crake.jpeg, '' Little crake'' Image:Cirl Bunting.jpeg, '' Cirl bunting'' Image:Black Woodpecker.jpeg, '' Black woodpecker''

Archaeology

Whitaker devoted the last years of his life to archaeology, purchasing the island of

Motya Motya was an ancient and powerful city on San Pantaleo Island off the west coast of Sicily, in the Stagnone Lagoon between Drepanum (modern Trapani) and Lilybaeum (modern Marsala). It is within the present-day comune, commune of Marsala, Ital ...

near

Trapani Trapani ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') with 54,887 inhabitants, on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the mai ...

the site of a

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

n town founded in the eighth century BC. He wrote a book on his excavations in 1921. The site may be explored (online) using the

link and is open to visitors.

Works

*Sulla migrazione degli uccelli, specialmente in Sicilia. ''Naturalista sicil.'' 121–127. 1882 *Notes on some Tunisian birds. ''Ibis'' 78–100, map. 1894. *Additional notes on Tunisian birds. ''Ibis'' 85 -106, map. 1895. *Further notes on Tunisian birds. ''Ibis'' 87 -99, map. 1896. *On ''Turnix sylvatica'' in Sicily ''Ibis'' 290–291. 1896. *Exhibition of skins of ''Sturnix unicolor'' from Morocco . ''Bull. Brit.Orn.Club'' vol.vii.pxvii (p 155 of Ibis 1898). 1897 *Description of Two new species, ''Garrulus ornops'', sp. nov., and ''Rhodopechys aliena'', sp. nov. ''Bull. Brit.Orn.Club'' vol.vii.pxvii 1897. *Further notes on Tunisian birds ''Ibis'' 125–132. 1898. *On the Grey

Shrike Shrikes () are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of 34 species in two genera. The family name, and that of the larger genus, '' Lanius'', is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes are also known ...

s of Tunisia ''Ibis'' 288–231.1898. *On a collection of birds from Morocco with descriptions of ''Lanius algieriensis'' dodsoni, subsp. nov. (p. 599) and of ''Octocorys atlas'' (p.xiii) ''Ibis'' 592–610.1898. *Description of a new

Chat Chat or chats may refer to: Communication * Conversation, particularly casual * Online chat, text message communication over the Internet in real-time * Synchronous conferencing, a formal term for online chat * SMS chat, a form of text messagi ...

, ''Saxicola caterinae'', sp. nov., from

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

and Morocco, and a new crossbill, ''Loxia curvirostra poliogyna'', subsp. nov., from Tunisia ''Ibis'' 624–625. 1898. *Description of a new species of Shore-Lark, ''Otocorys atlas'', from the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. They separate the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range, which stretches around through M ...

of Morocco. ''Bull. Brit. Orn. Club''. Vol.vii, p.xlvii (p 432 of ''Ibis'') 1898. *Sulla riproduzione in cattività del Pollo sultano (''Porphyrio coeruleus'' Vandelli) volg. sic. gaddo fagiano o gaddu fascianu. ''Naturalista sic.'' vol.3, 17–20. 1899 *On an Abnormal nest of Ardea cinerea ''Bull. Brit. Orn. Club''. vol. viii, p.xxxvii. 1899. *On the breeding of the Purple Gallinule in captivity. ''Ibis'' vol. vii. p. 502–505. 1899 *On a new Chat from Southern Persia. ''Bull. Br. Orn. Club'' vol.x. p.17. 1899 *The passage of Cuculus canorus L. in Sicily. ''Aquila'' vo. vi. p.99-100. 1899 *On the Occurrence of ''Caprimulgus aeggptius'' at Palermo ''Ibis'' p. 475-476. 1899 *On a new species of Acredula from Sicily. ''Bull. Br. Orn. Club'' vol.x. 11. p.51-52. 1901 *On some species of Crested Lark. ''Ibis'' vol.xii. p.38. 1901 *On rare species from Tripoli. ''Ibis'' vol.xiii. p. 15-17. 1902 *Further information on two recently described species of Passerine Birds. ''Ibis''. vol.x. p.54-59. 1902 *On a small collection of Birds from Tripoli. ''Ibis''. vo.x. p.643-656. 1902 *On the occurrence of Porphyrio alleni in Italy and Tunis. ''Ibis''vol.xi. p.431-432. 1903 *Cisticola cisticola mauritanica subsp. nova. ''Bull. Br. Orn. Club'' vol.xiv. p.19-20. 1903 *La Glareola melanoptera in Sicilia. ''Avicula'' vo.viii. p. 84-85. 1904 *Il Corvus corone, la Linota rufescens e la Glareola melanoptera in Sicilia. ''Avicula'' vo.viii. p.56. 1904 *Corvus corone, Linota rufescens and Glareola melanoptera in Sicily. ''Ibis'' vo.xii. p.477-478. 1904 *Alauda arvensis harterti subsp. nova. ''Bull. Br. Orn. Club'' vol.xv. p.19-20. 1904 *1905 ''The Birds of Tunisia'', 2 Vols. Pp. xxxii, 294; xviii, 410, 17 full page plates of which 15 are handcoloured after Grönvold, 2 photograv., 1 clr folding map. London, 1st edition. Edition limited to 250 copies only.London, R.H. Porter,190
Digitised text Volume 1Digitised text Volume 2
*Biographical notice on the late Professor Giglioli. ''Ibis'' vol.xviii. p.537-538. 1910 *Letter on Pterocles senegallus in Sicily. ''Ibis'' vo.xviii. p. 102. 1910 *Sulla necessità di legislazione internazionale per proibire l'importazione in Europa delle pelli e piume di alcune specie di uccelli. ''Riv. Ital. Orn.'' vo. iii p. 126–135. 1915 *The Birds of Sicily. Manuscript in the Villa Whitaker Malfitano. Palermo. 1920 about *''Motya – A Phoenician Colony in Sicily'', London. G. Bell & Sons, 1921.
online

References

*Lo Valvo, F. and Massa B. ''Catalogo Della Collezione Ornitologica Joseph Whitaker'' (1850–1936) Estrato da: ''Il Naturalista Siciliano''.S.IV.XXIV (Suppl.), 2000 13 figures.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitaker, Joseph 1850 births 1936 deaths English archaeologists English ornithologists English people of Italian descent Archaeologists from Palermo Italian football chairmen and investors Italian ornithologists Italian people of English descent Scientists from Palermo Palermo FC chairmen and investors Businesspeople from Palermo Archaeologists of Phoenicia