Oliver Vernon Aplin (5 December 1858 – 8 November 1940) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 ...

. Aplin was born in

Bodicote Bodicote is a village and civil parish in North Oxfordshire, approximately south of the centre of Banbury. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,126. The Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist is a Grade II* ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, the son of solicitor Benjamin W. Aplin and Barbara Aplin. He was educated in

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

,1871 England Census but lived the rest of his life in Oxfordshire, with a keen interest in the natural history of the area. He published a number of papers and notes on British birds, particularly those of Oxfordshire,

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

and the Lleyn Peninsula, North Wales. In 1892, he published a list of the birds in

Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...

with his two brothers, Frederick C. Aplin and Rev. Benjamin D'Oyley Aplin. He regularly contributed annual reports on the ornithology of Oxfordshire to ''

The Zoologist ''The Zoologist'' was a monthly natural history magazine established in 1843 by Edward Newman and published in London. Newman acted as editor-in-chief until his death in 1876, when he was succeeded, first by James Edmund Harting (1876–1896 ...

'' from 1894 until the journal ceased publication in 1916. He is probably best known as the author of the ''Birds of Oxfordshire'', published in 1889. He was elected a member of 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 ...

in 1888. He made a number of trips abroad during the 1890s, visiting Switzerland with

William Warde Fowler William Warde Fowler (16 May 1847 – 15 June 1921) was an English historian and ornithologist, and tutor at Lincoln College, Oxford. He was best known for his works on ancient Roman religion Religion in ancient Rome consisted of vary ...

in 1891 and collecting in Uruguay (1892), Eastern Algeria (1895) and north Norway (1896).

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aplin, Oliver Vernon 1858 births 1940 deaths British ornithological writers People from Bodicote People from Bloxham