Edward Cross (Zoo Director)

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Edward Cross, painting by Jacques-Laurent Agasse , 1838
The Nubian giraffe , painting by Agasse around 1827. Edward Cross is on the right.

Edward Cross (* in London ; baptized February 3, 1774 ; † September 26, 1854 in Kennington ) was a British menagerie owner , showman and zoo director.

Life

Edward Cross was a son of Walter Cross and his wife Jane, b. Callow. He was baptized in Holborn in St Andrew's Church. Little is known about his youth. He married a woman named Mary, with whom he had a daughter. There is no evidence of a relationship with the animal dealer William Cross in Liverpool , but according to some sources Edward Cross also initially worked as an animal dealer in this same city.

Exeter Change

He later worked for Stephen Polito in his menagerie in Exeter Change on the Strand in London and took over the company after Polito's death in 1814. The four-story building housed a large number of exotic animals, including a rhinoceros and the elephant Chunee , the Cross in 1826 had to be killed because he could no longer be tamed. The removal of the carcass, which had initially been presented to the public until residents complained about the stench, was very laborious. Cross had Chunee's skeleton dissected and incorporated it into his menagerie. A little later he tried to sell his animal collection to the Zoological Society of London . But the offer was rejected. Because Exeter Change was demolished in 1829, Cross had to find new quarters for his menagerie. Several animals were released during the move to the new location near Trafalgar Square .

In 1831 Edward Cross gave up the menagerie in London. He sold the remaining animals for £ 3,500 to the Surrey Literary, Scientific and Zoological Institution, which he founded himself. He himself became director of the newly established Surrey Zoo in Kennington on the grounds of Walworth Manor House. In the following years, Cross acquired a number of exotic animals again, but decided not to keep a new elephant permanently. In 1844 he retired from professional life and died ten years later. Edward Cross was buried in West Norwood Cemetery.

The fate of the zoo

The Surrey Zoo soon ran into trouble after Cross left and was closed in 1856. The area was still used as a theme park with a music hall that held 12,000 visitors. The theme park, in which General Tom Thumb appeared among others , was very popular. The guests also included members of the royal family. But the Music Hall burned down in 1862. In 1877 the Surrey Gardens were finally closed, from the 1950s onwards the Pasley Park was built . Relics from the former zoo were on display at the Cuming Museum in 2009.

Others

The Rhinoceros crossii was named after Edward Cross in 1854. The specimen from which the species was determined came from Cross' holdings and its remains have come to the British Museum .

  • The menagerie at Exeter Change circa 1820

  • Chunee is killed

  • Animals escape during the move

  • Illustration of Chunee's skeleton (with fake tusks) that Cross drove away

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20120327053347/http://www.fairground-heritage.org.uk/newsite/research/research-menageries.html
  2. ^ Elisabeth Hardouin-Furnier and Eric Baratay, Zoo. A History of Zoological Gardens of the West , Reaction Books 2003, ISBN 978-1-86189-208-9 , p. 120
  3. ^ LC Rookmaaker, Heinz-Georg Klös, The Rhinoceros in Captivity , SPB Academic Publishing, Den Haag 1998, ISBN 90-5103-134-3 , p. 143
  4. ↑ [1]
  5. ↑ http://www.london-footprints.co.uk/artelephants.htm
  6. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original dated May 16, 2011 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.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.fownc.org
  7. ↑ http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow/1859map/surrey_zoo_gardens.html
  8. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original dated February 8, 2011 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.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.streetsaheadenews.com
  9. ↑ http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/species/sumatran-rhino/scientific-names.php
  10. ^ Edward Gerrard, Catalog of Bones of Mammalia of the British Museum , Ndr. Xlibris Corporation 2008, ISBN 978-0-554-53530-2 , p. 282
personal data
SURNAME Cross, Edward
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British menagerie owner and zoo director
DATE OF BIRTH baptized February 3, 1774
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH September 26, 1854
Place of death Kennington