James Hector

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James Hector (around 1900)

Sir James Hector (born March 16, 1834 in Edinburgh , Scotland , † November 6, 1907 in Lower Hutt , New Zealand ) was a British , Scottish-New Zealand doctor , geologist and researcher . He was director of various New Zealand institutes and from 1885 to 1903 Chancellor of the University of New Zealand .

Early years

James Hector was born in Edinburgh on March 16, 1834, to Margaret Macrosty and her husband, Alexander Hector , a lawyer and Writer to the Signet .

After attending Edinburgh Academy and Royal High School in Edinburgh , Hector worked for a short period in his father's office when he was 14. Afterwards, his father hired him to work for three years under the care of insurance specialist James Watson . Already interested in the natural sciences , he attended university and the Edinburgh School of Art during this time . In November 1852 he enrolled at the University of Edinburgh for medicine, but during his studies also took part in lectures in botany with Professor John Hutton Balfour and zoology with Professor Edward Forbes .

After graduating as a doctor of medicine in 1856, Hector got the opportunity to go on an expedition to Canada the following year . Well-known Scottish biologists and geologists had previously noticed him because of his lines. A recommendation from geologist Roderick Murchison , then director of the Geological Survey of Great Britain , finally helped him to join the expedition team in March 1857.

Canada

John Palliser (l.) And James Hector (r.)

Under the command of Captain John Palliser , who was to explore western Canada on behalf of the British government, James Hector took over responsibility for the scientific part of the enterprise as a geologist and doctor. The expedition lasted four years. They explored the open prairies in the summer months and the Rocky Mountains in the fall months . Over the winter months, Hector set out on foot with a small group with snowshoes , slept outside in the snow at night and ate pemmican .

James Hector explored four passes through the Canadian Rockies . He gave a pass the name Kicking Horse Pass after he had already named the river where he was kicked in the chest by his horse, the Kicking Horse River . The Kicking Horse Pass was later chosen by the Canadian Railway to bridge the Rockies from east to west.

At the end of the expedition, Hector was investigating the coal fields of Vancouver Island and the gold fields of British Columbia . A detour took him to the gold fields of California to the north of Mexico . He finally traveled back to England via Panama and the West Indies and was awarded the gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society in 1861 for his services .

In the same year, Hector received two offers from Murchison to choose from. He could choose to go to Kashmir as a geologist and government representative or to New Zealand as a geologist for the Otago provincial government . He accepted the challenge to New Zealand.

New Zealand

On April 15, 1862, he took up his new position in Dunedin , Otago and in just three years explored the entire province of Otago , the mountainous regions and the west coast with the sounds of part of Fiordland . Despite the beginning gold rush in Otago , Hector concentrated on geological exploration of the region, compiling a collection of 500 specimens of stones, fossils and minerals . He also created extensive maps of the region. In 1864 he was commissioned to tour the entire colony and to prepare an exhibition of his findings in Dunedin for the following year. It was the first exhibition of its kind in New Zealand.

In 1865 Hector was appointed director of the New Zealand Geological Survey , became a Fellow of the Royal Society in London on June 7, 1866, and was appointed director of the New Zealand Institute , founded on October 10, 1867, in 1868 . He stayed in charge until 1903.

On December 19, 1868, James Hector married his wife Georgiana , eldest daughter of the New Zealand politician and speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives , Sir David Monro .

During his years in New Zealand he wrote 45 scientific articles in the fields of geology, botany and zoology, produced the catalog for the Colonial Museum in 1870 , the catalog for the library of the Colonial Museum in 1890 , produced the Handbook of New Zealand , and in 1879 for the Sydney International Exhibition and in 1880 a second edition for the Melbourne International Exhibition . Further revised editions followed in 1883 and 1886.

As a result of restructuring, Hector was in charge of the Geological Survey of New Zealand in 1892 and in 1903 he was in charge of the New Zealand Institute . Retired in October 1903, James Hector began to travel again at the invitation of the Canadian government. Accompanied by his son Douglas , he once again traveled to the regions of Canada that he had explored on his expedition 46 years earlier. But the tragic death of his son made him return to New Zealand a broken man in 1904.

In 1905, Hector was elected President of the Royal Society of New Zealand , which succeeded the New Zealand Institute . He held the position until his death.

James Hector died on November 6, 1907 in Lower Hutt , near Wellington .

Awards

Hector medal

The Hector Medal, also known as the Hector Medal , was first awarded by the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1910 when the Hector Memorial Fund was founded . In honor of James Hector , the medal was awarded annually on a rotating basis to scientists from different disciplines for their special merits. Between 2001 and 2005, the company switched to a biennial award, but returned to the annual award in 2005.

literature

  • Alfred Cox : Men of Mark of New Zealand . Whitcombe & Tombs , Christchurch 1886, p. 96–101 (English, archive.org ).
  • Philip Mennell: Hector, Sir James . In: The Dictionary of Australasian Biography . Hutchinson, London 1892, pp. 225-226 (English, Wikisource ).
  • Sidney Hartley Jenkinson : New Zealanders and Science . Ed .: Department of Internal Affairs . Wellington 1940 (English).
  • Hector, Sir James . In: AH McLintock (Ed.): An Encyclopedia of New Zealand . Christchurch 1966 (English, teara.govt.nz [accessed July 8, 2012]).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Kicking Horse River . Canadian Geographical Names Database, Ottawa - Government of British Columbia , accessed July 8, 2012 .
  2. ^ Hector's Map of the Otago Province . University of Otago , 2011, accessed February 8, 2016 .
  3. ^ Fellows Directory. Biographical Index: Former RSE Fellows 1783–2002. (PDF file) Royal Society of Edinburgh, accessed December 18, 2019 .
  4. ^ Hector Medal . Royal Society of New Zealand , accessed July 9, 2012 .
personal data
SURNAME Hector, James
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish-New Zealand medic, geologist, researcher and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH March 16, 1834
PLACE OF BIRTH Edinburgh
DATE OF DEATH November 6, 1907
Place of death Lower Hutt