Colonel Joshua Arthur Nunn (1853–1908) was an Irish-born veterinarian and later barrister working in India and South Africa.

Life

He was born on 10 May 1853 at

Hill Castle A hill castle or mountain castle is a castle built on a natural feature that stands above the surrounding terrain. It is a term derived from the German ''Höhenburg'' used in categorising castle sites by their topographical location. Hill castles a ...

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, the son of Edward W. Nunn JP DL. He was educated at

Wimbledon College Wimbledon College is a government-maintained, voluntary-aided, Jesuit Catholic secondary school and sixth form for boys aged 11 to 19 in Wimbledon, London. The college was founded in 1892 "for improvement in living and learning for the greate ...

in England. He served in the

Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers The Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia) is the most senior regiment of the British Army Reserve. The regiment was formed in 1539 during the reign of by King Henry VIII. The R Mon RE (M) became a militia unit in 1660 and then became a p ...

Militia from 1871 to 1877. In 1874 he enrolled in the Royal Veterinary College in

Camden Town Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential distri ...

and was admitted MRCVS in 1877. He received a certificate in Cattle Pathology from the Royal Agricultural Society in the same year. In 1877 he sailed to

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 ...

as Veterinary Surgeon to the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

. From September 1879 to August 1880 he served in the

Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dy ...

in charge of transport and communications in the

Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass (Urdu: درۂ خیبر; ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by tr ...

and

Lughman Lughman is a village in Khwahan Badakhshan Province in north-eastern Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is border ...

valley. He was then placed in charge of the hospital at

Gandamak Gandamak is a village of Afghanistan located between Kabul and Jalalabad, from Jalalabad on the old road to Kabul. History During the retreat from Kabul of General Elphinstone's army in 1842, a hill near Gandamak was the scene of the Battle ...

. From 1880 to 1885 he was attached to the Indian Civil Service attached to the Punjab district and charge with disease control as required under the Glanders and Farcy Act. In 1886 he was ordered to go to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

to investigate a major outbreak of horse sickness. He first undertook courses in bacteriology at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

as the outbreak was believed to be

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

and would then have been a national disaster. He reached South Africa in January 1887. He proved the disease was

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

l in origin. In 1888 he took part in the Zulu Campaign and was present at the surrender of Chief Somkali at the St Lucia Lagoon. He returned to India in January 1889 as veterinary officer to the

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

column as part of the Chin Lushai Expedition. For this he was

Mentioned in Dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

and also became the first veterinary officer to win the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

. He then left military circles to become Principal of

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Veterinary College from 1890.

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

created him a Commander of the

Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire, ...

(CIE) in 1895. Probably due to ill-health he returned to England in December 1896 and began studying Law as an alternative career. He was aged 43 at this time. He qualified as a barrister at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in November 1899. He returned to South Africa as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

. This move was however short-lived and he returned to veterinary science in 1901 in England as Deputy Director General of the Army Veterinary Department. In 1902 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. His proposers were William Owen Williams,

John McFadyean Sir John McFadyean FRSE LLD (1853 - 1941) was a Scottish veterinary surgeon and Professor of Veterinary Science. He was Principal of (and a Professor at) the Royal Veterinary College from 1894 to 1927. In 1906 he was the first person to isolat ...

, Sir

Thomas Richard Fraser Sir Thomas Richard Fraser (5 February 1841 – 4 January 1920) was a British physician and pharmacologist. Together with Alexander Crum Brown he discovered the relationship between physiological activity and chemical constitution of the body ...

and James Hunter. In 1904 he became Principal Veterinary Officer for England. In 1905 he became Principal Veterinary Officer for South Africa, and finally in 1906 Principal Veterinary Officer for India. King

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 ...

created him a Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in 1906. He retired due to continuing ill-health in 1907n and died in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

on 23 February 1908.

Family

In 1907 (aged 54) he married Gertrude Ann Chamberlain (née Kellner) a widow. He died within a year of marrying. They had no children.

Publications

*''Animal Diseases in

Rohtak Rohtak () is a city and the administrative headquarters of the Rohtak district in the Indian state of Haryana. It lies north-west of New Delhi and south of the state capital Chandigarh on NH 9 (old NH 10). Rohtak forms a part of the Nationa ...

'' (1882) *''Diseases in

Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...

e and

Hazara Hazara may refer to: Places and ethnic groups Afghanistan * Hazaras, an ethnic group and a principal component of the population of Afghanistan ** Hazarajat, or Hazaristan, a historic region of Afghanistan ** List of Hazara tribes Pakistan * H ...

'' (1883) *''Diseases in the Montgomery and Shapur Districts'' (1885) *''Reports on African Horse Sickness'' (1888) *''Notes on Stable Management in India and the Colonies'' (1896) *''Lectures on Saddlery and Harness'' (1902) *''Veterinary First Aid in Cases of ASccident or Sudden Illness'' (1903) *''The Use of

Molasses Molasses () is a viscous byproduct, principally obtained from the refining of sugarcane or sugar beet juice into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, the method of extraction, and the age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is usuall ...

as a Feeding Material'' (1903) *''Veterinary Toxicology'' (1906) *''Diseases of the Mammary Gland of Domestic Animals''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunn, Joshua Arthur 1853 births 1908 deaths People from County Wexford Royal Army Veterinary Corps officers Royal Artillery officers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Royal Engineers officers British Militia officers Companions of the Order of the Bath British people in colonial India Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order