George Edward Dobson facts for kids

George Edward Dobson (born September 4, 1848, in Edgeworthstown, County Longford, Ireland – died November 26, 1895) was an Irish zoologist, a person who studies animals. He was also a photographer and an army surgeon. Dobson was especially interested in bats, and he described many new types of them. Some animal species have even been named after him!

Dobson's Life Story

George Edward Dobson was the oldest son of Parke Dobson. He went to school at the Royal School Enniskillen and then studied at Trinity College, Dublin. He earned several degrees, including a Bachelor of Arts in 1866 and degrees in medicine and surgery in 1867.

After 1867, he became an army surgeon and served in India. He eventually became a surgeon major, which is a high rank. In 1868, he visited the Andaman Islands. There, he collected animal specimens for the Indian Museum. In 1872, he also took pictures and studied the local people of the Andaman Islands.

Around 1878, Dobson became the curator of the Royal Victoria Museum in Netley, where he looked after the museum's collections.

Dobson's Discoveries and Achievements

Dobson was an expert on small mammals, especially bats (which are called Chiroptera) and Insectivora, a group that includes animals like moles and shrews.

He was a member of several important scientific societies, which are groups for scientists to share their work. These included the Royal Society, the Linnean Society of London, and the Zoological Society of London. He was also a member of similar societies in America, like the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.

What Dobson Wrote

George Dobson wrote several important books about animals:

• Catalogue of the Chiroptera in Collection of British Museum (1878) - This book listed all the bats in the British Museum's collection.
• Monograph of the Asiatic Chiroptera (1876) - This book focused on bats found in Asia.
• A Monograph of the Insectivora, systematic and anatomical (1882-1890) - This detailed book was about insect-eating mammals.

Dobson also wrote parts of the ninth edition of the famous Encyclopædia Britannica. He wrote about vampyre bats, moles, and shrews for this encyclopedia.