Hugh B. Cott

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hugh Bamford Cott (born July 6, 1900 in Ashby Magna , Leicestershire , † April 18, 1987 in Stoke Abbott , Dorset ) was a British zoologist. He was an expert in natural and military camouflage, as well as a scientific illustrator and photographer. Many of his field studies took place in Africa, where he was particularly interested in the Nile crocodile and the development of patterns and colors in animals. During World War II, Cott worked as a camouflage expert for the British Army and helped influence the War Department's camouflage policy. His book Adaptive Coloration in Animals (1940), popular with soldiers, was an important textbook on camouflage in 20th century zoology. After the war he became a Fellow of Selwyn College (Cambridge) . As a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London , he went on expeditions to Africa and the Amazon to collect specimens, mainly reptiles and amphibians.

life and work

Royal Military College, Sandhurst.

Cott was born on July 6, 1900 in Ashby Magna, Leicestershire, England. His father was the principal there. He attended rugby school himself ; In 1919 he graduated from the Royal Military College at Sandhurst and was accepted into the Leicestershire Regiment . Between 1922 and 1925 he studied at Selwyn College, Cambridge .

Cott originally wanted to study theology, but after his first year he went on a university expedition to South America , where he studied in eastern Brazil in 1923 under the direction of the entomologist Francis Balfour-Browne . Fascinated by natural history , he began to study zoology after his return . He then went on an expedition to the lower Amazon basin (1925-1926) and the Zambezi region in Africa (1927), including Mozambique , Zambia and East Africa and Lanzarote (1930).

literature

  • Hugh B. Cott: Adaptive Coloration in Animals . 1940, Methuen.
  • Hugh B. Cott: Looking at Animals: A Zoologist in Africa . 1975, Scribner.
  • Hugh B. Cott: Uganda in Black and White . 1959, Macmillan.
  • Hugh B. Cott: Zoological Photography in Practice . 1956, Fountain Press.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Biography of Hugh B. Cott.
personal data
SURNAME Cott, Hugh B.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cott, Hugh Bamford (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British zoologist
DATE OF BIRTH July 6, 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH Ashby Magna , Leicestershire
DATE OF DEATH April 18, 1987
Place of death Stoke Abbott , Dorset