John Alexander Smith (naturalist)

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John Alexander Smith (* 1818 - August 17, 1883 in Edinburgh ) was a British doctor , naturalist (he studied zoology and physics ) and archaeologist .

Life

Smith grew up in Edinburgh , studied medicine at the university there and received his doctorate (M. D.) in 1840 . In 1865 he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (Royal Medical College ) and was there long years treasurer .

He was a skilled and successful doctor, but his interests were more archeology and zoology. He was Vice President of the Scottish Society of Antiquaries and has been the editor of their magazine for several years. For twenty-four years he was secretary of the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh and was in contact with many eminent scientists.

Scientific achievements

Smith's scientific interests were wide-ranging: In addition to general zoology - as he described with reference to preparations of Calabar in Nigeria today was the first to reedfish ( Erpetoichthys calabaricus ) and the ordinary Bärenmaki ( Arctocebus calabarensis than Perodicticus calabarensis ) - he devoted himself to archaeozoology . He certain bones from Scotland as a brown bear and (probably by mistake) a reindeer antler and published a paper Notes on the Ancient Cattle of Scotland (notes on the ancient cattle Scotland). He also published u. a. an article about a fireball .

credentials

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Juliet Glutton-Brock, Arthur MacGregort: An end to medieval reindeer in Scotland. Proc Soc Antiq Scot 118: 23-35 (1988) PDF
  2. ↑ James Edmund Harting: Extinct British Animals. Boston 1880 scan
  3. ^ Smith, JA, 1863. Notes of a fireball (or a supposed meteorite) recently observed near Auchterarder, Perthshire. Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc. Edinburgh 3 : 64
personal data
SURNAME Smith, John Alexander
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British physician, naturalist and archaeologist
DATE OF BIRTH 1818
DATE OF DEATH 17th August 1883
Place of death Edinburgh