St. George Littledale facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St. George Littledale
St. George Littledale in late middle age.
Born	(1851-12-08)8 December 1851 Liverpool, UK
Died	16 April 1931(1931-04-16) (aged 79)
Nationality	British
Known for	Big game hunting, collecting for museums
Scientific career
Fields	Zoology, Geography
Influences	Albert Gunther, Teresa Littledale, Thomas Littledale, Shrewsbury School, Thomas Moore

Clement St. George Royds Littledale (born December 8, 1851 – died April 16, 1931) was a famous British explorer. He and his wife, Teresa Harris (1839–1928), were known for their amazing journeys. They traveled across Central Asia in the 1800s.

Many people also see Littledale as one of the best big game hunters ever. He hunted animals with horns, like sheep and goats. These animals lived in the mountains of the northern part of the world. He also collected many animal specimens for the Natural History Museum in London.

Early Life and Adventures

St. George Littledale was born in Liverpool, UK, on December 8, 1851. His parents were Thomas Littledale and Julia Royds. His father and grandfather were rich cotton brokers. They had also been mayors of Liverpool. His full name was Clement St. George Royds Littledale. People usually called him St. George.

When he was young, his father died. He went to Rugby School for a short time. Later, in 1866, he joined Shrewsbury School. He left after three years without finishing his studies.

At age 21, he received his family inheritance. In 1874, he started a trip around the world. He traveled through the West Indies and across the United States. During this time, he collected birds and mammals for the Liverpool Museum.

Meeting Teresa

He then sailed to Japan, arriving in Yokohama in October. There, he met Teresa Harris Scott. She was the wife of a wealthy Scot named William John Scott. Mrs. Scott was 35 years old and had been married for 15 years. She was from Canada. Teresa was the youngest of 12 children. Her family, the Harrises, were pioneers from Eldon House in London, Ontario.

Littledale joined the Scotts on their travels. They explored together for eight months. This included a tough trip to Kashmir. In June 1875, Mr. Scott died on their ship back to Liverpool. In February 1877, St. George Littledale married Teresa Scott. They spent their honeymoon in Kashmir and Ladakh. This trip lasted for more than a year.

Amazing Expeditions

St. George Littledale, Elim Demidov, and his wife Sofia on the sandspit at Petropavlovsk, Russia.

For 30 years, the Littledales went on many expeditions. They explored places in North America and Asia. They were always collecting items for museums. They started in the American Rockies, Yellowstone, and Alaska. These trips helped them gain experience and improve their skills.

Later, in the late 1880s, they went on trips to the Caucasus, the Pamirs, and Russian Central Asia and Mongolia. In 1887, Thomas Moore, who was the Director of the Liverpool Museum, introduced Littledale to Albert Gunther. Gunther was the Keeper of Zoology at the Natural History Museum in London. From then on, Littledale became a professional collector.

Both St. George and Teresa took their collecting work very seriously. It gave their expeditions a special purpose. They worked as a team and were ready to collect anything. Besides mammals, they collected birds, insects, reptiles, and fish. They also gathered long lists of plants for the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.

Exploring Central Asia

Littledale then started collecting more than just museum items. In 1889, he wanted to cross the Pamirs. This was a journey from north to south, from Russia into India. To help get permission, he offered to gather information for the British government. The Foreign Office approved his idea. However, the Government of India said no. So, the Littledales changed their plans. They went to Russian Central Asia and Mongolia instead.

In 1890, they finally got permission to cross the Pamirs. This was the first of their three biggest journeys. It was a time of great rivalry between Russia and Britain. This rivalry was called the Great Game. It was a "cold war" over the huge lands of Central Asia. The Littledales' journey caused a stir in the newspapers.

The Littledales stayed home in 1892. This was because of an illness in Russia, where they had planned to go. St. George used this time to learn how to make maps. He studied with John Coles, who was a map expert at the Royal Geographical Society. After that, he made very careful maps of the unknown areas he visited.

In 1893, the Littledales traveled from west to east. They went across Russian and Chinese Central Asia. They continued all the way to Peking. Littledale brought home an Asian wild camel from this trip.

Journey to Tibet

Their greatest adventure was a 14-month trip to Tibet in 1895. With them was W.A.L. Fletcher, Littledale's 25-year-old nephew. He was a famous rower from Oxford. They also had 7 servants from Ladakh, 3 Pathan soldiers, and their fox terrier dog named Tanny.

They were trying to reach the forbidden city of Lhasa. This was a big goal for explorers in Central Asia, but no one had succeeded. The Littledales crossed the Tien Shan mountains to Kashgar. Then they went to Cherchen. From there, they headed south to cross the lonely Chang Tang. This is a high plateau in Tibet.

Littledale chose a route to avoid meeting Tibetans until they were close to Lhasa. Along the way, Littledale measured Ulugh Muztagh. This is a high mountain in the remote Kun Lun range in northern Tibet. They eventually met 150 armed Tibetans at a high pass. The Tibetans allowed them to continue over the pass to a good stopping place. They were only 49 miles from Lhasa. This was closer than any other foreigners had been since 1846.

During a difficult journey out of Tibet, Teresa became very sick. She had to be carried for 1,200 miles. In June 1896, the Royal Geographical Society gave its Patron's Medal to St. George Littledale. This was for his three great expeditions.

Later Expeditions and Recognition

In 1897, the Littledales traveled with Prince Elim Demidov and his wife Sofia. They went to Siberia and the Mongolian Altai. Teresa was older, and this was her last big expedition.

In 1900, Littledale joined the Demidovs on a trip to Kamchatka. In 1901, he went to the Tien Shan mountains alone. He brought home a large collection of mammals. This included a record-sized Asiatic ibex. Teresa had been the main plant collector. But this time, Littledale collected many plants himself. The Natural History Museum decided one of the sheep he collected was a new type. They named it after him, calling it Ovis littledalei. It is now known as Littledale argali.

In 1902, King Edward visited the Littledales' house for lunch. He asked for Littledale's best trophy. This was the record ibex head from the Tien Shan. Littledale had to give it to the King.

In 1903, the Littledales visited New Zealand. St. George suggested that the climate there was good for bringing in certain game animals. He then became involved in collecting live animals. This was a big international project. During this time, he became good friends with President Theodore Roosevelt.

Littledale hunted in Newfoundland in 1907. Then he hunted in the East Caucasus in 1908. The Littledales continued to travel widely together. However, these trips were not as grand as their earlier expeditions. In 1919, Littledale became a Justice of the Peace for Berkshire. He was a great expedition leader. Now, he became known as a fair and thoughtful judge.

Later Life and Legacy

Teresa Littledale died suddenly in 1928. In 1931, St. George spent six weeks fishing for salmon in Scotland. He came home sick and died on April 16. He was 79 years old.

During his main years of exploring, Littledale gave 122 mammals to the Natural History Museum. These came from the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Kamchatka. Other animals went to the Liverpool Museum. Both museums had also received many other trophies over the years. These included many birds and mammals, with many record-sized heads.

After Littledale died, the Natural History Museum chose 94 more trophies. These were from about 150 items that filled his home. His home was Wick Hill House in Bracknell, Berkshire.

In a book published the next year, Edgar Barclay wrote:

"As a hunter of big game in the Northern Hemisphere, the name of Littledale must surely stand alone. His success in this sphere has never I think been equalled, most certainly never surpassed."

A tribute to Littledale appeared in Geographical Journal. It was written by Sir Francis Younghusband. He was a symbol of British exploration in Central Asia. He wrote:

"...his name has never been so well known as his achievements entitled it to be. And perhaps the fact that he took his wife with him on all his three great journeys predisposed people to think they could not have been very adventurous or arduous. . . . And as a fact, every one of their journeys would nowadays be considered an accomplishment of note."

See also

In Spanish: St. George Littledale para niños