Charles Macintosh (natural scientist)

Charles Macintosh (* 1839 in Inver ; † 1922 in Dunkeld ) was a Scottish self-taught natural scientist. He was a specialist in mosses , ferns and mushrooms . His main job was as a parish mailman in Perthshire . On his business trips he carried out intensive nature studies. In 1883 he was elected an associate member of the Perth Scientific Society . There he gave numerous lectures. His collections are in the Perth Museum.

Life

Charles Macintosh first worked in a sawmill, but lost a hand in an accident and then became a postman. He was interested in botany , geology , astronomy and ornithology and became known for his autodidactic research and studies in these areas. He wrote numerous papers for the Transactions and Proceedings of the Perthshire Society of Natural Science , including one on the discovery of the species Cucurbitaria pithyophila , and was involved in the discovery of a number of fungi. He also discovered several relics from the Stone Age , including several stone axes.

In 1873 he was elected an associate of the Perthshire Society of Natural Science. For this company he also organized tours in the vicinity of his home country when the summer excursions were due, he also led numerous school classes and collected exhibits for the Museum of Perth.

Coming from a music-loving family, Charles Macintosh was also the choir director of Little Dunkeld Church and superintendent of his Sunday school; At times he also played in his brother James Macintosh's string ensemble .

Beatrix Potter , who met Macintosh in 1892, described him as a rather shy man. She had tried to make his acquaintance, because she wanted to show him her drawings for assessment, and reported in her diary about the encounter: “Finally he came to an appointment with his soft hat, a walking stick, a small bundle and very dirty shoes [...] At first he was terribly shy and awkward [...] He is a true dragon of learning and anything but a culinary Latin [...] For nothing in the world would I care about him make fun of, but it reminded me so much of a damaged lamp post. Gradually he got on to his favorite subject, his remarks brief and to the point, conscientious and precise, as befits a correspondent for the learned Mr. Barclay of Glamis . When we were discussing mushrooms, he got very excited and spoke with a truly poetic feeling about their wonderful colors [...] When you meet him, a more frightened, frightened scarecrow is hardly conceivable. Very long and thin, hunched, weak-chested, one arm dangles down, and the walking stick, which is much too short, hangs on a loop over the stump, two long strands of a whisker flutter over the shoulders, it drips from the hat and nose, watery eyes, that are aimed at the puddles or anything else, just not the face of an oncoming person [...] It was always a pleasure to jump puddle after puddle after the prints of Charlie's nail shoes [...] "Potter stayed with us in the following years Macintosh in contact, who served her as a mentor in the field of mycology and was instrumental in developing her mushroom drawings and paintings as well as her scientific knowledge. In his collection, which he bequeathed to the Perth Museum, there were also 24 watercolors by Potter's hand.

After Macintosh's death, a collection of money took place, which was supposed to serve three purposes: the erection of a memorial stone, the purchase of a memorial plaque and the establishment of a foundation. The memorial stone was erected in the churchyard of Little Dunkeld, where Macintosh was buried. Designed by Thomas MacLaren in Perth, it is made of rough granite and bears a cross modeled on the shape of the earliest Christian crosses found in the area. At the house where he was born, which he lived in almost all of his life, there is an information board with his life data. The foundation was used to fund science prizes in schools in Perthshire.

family

Charles Macintosh was an older brother of the composer James Macintosh (1846–1937). His father was called Charlie Macintosh, his uncle in turn James Macintosh (1791–1879). This was the last student of Niel Gow and belonged to the band that played in 1822 on the occasion of King George IV's visit to Edinburgh . The grandfather, Charlie Macintosh, came from the north of Scotland and had moved to Inver around 1780 to avoid serving in the East India Company.

literature

• Henry Coates, A Perthshire naturalist. Charles MacIntosh of Inver , London 1923

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Plant collections of the Perth & Kinross Council ( Memento of the original from December 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ ^{a b} Biographical information on fife.50megs.com ( Memento of the original from January 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ Beatrix Potter, My Story. The Journal from 1881 to 1897 . Published by Glen Cavaliero. From the English by Eike Schönfeld, Insel Verlag 2009, ISBN 978-3-458-34981-5 , pp. 270-272
4. ↑ See the illustration on scran.ac
5. ↑ Beatrix Potter's Fungal Studies
6. ↑ Information on the relationship on pete-clark.com ( Memento of the original from October 22, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.