Stanley Wells Kemp facts for kids

Stanley Wells Kemp, a brilliant marine biologist from England, was born on June 14, 1882, and passed away on May 16, 1945. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society, which is a very important group for scientists.

Early Life and Growing Up

Stanley Kemp was born in London. He was the second of three sons. His father, Stephen Kemp, was a professor at the Royal Academy and Royal School of Music. Even as a boy, Stanley loved animals. He enjoyed collecting water beetles and keeping them in aquariums. He was also a member of his local natural history club.

He went to St Paul's School and then studied at Trinity College in Dublin. He graduated in 1903 with a special gold medal, showing how well he did. He studied botany, which is the study of plants, with a teacher named H. H. Dixon.

Adventures in India

In 1910, Stanley Kemp joined the Zoological and Anthropological section of the Indian Museum. This was a big step in his career! When this group changed into the Zoological Survey of India in 1916, he became a Superintendent. He started studying crustaceans, which are creatures like crabs and lobsters, continuing work that other scientists had begun.

He spent 14 years in India, where he wrote 17 papers about decapods (a type of crustacean) found in the Indian Museum. He went on many exciting trips, including to Baluchistan in 1918 with Thomas Nelson Annandale. He also explored the Andaman Islands, the Abor Hills, the Garo Hills, and Rameshwaram.

In 1910, he became a Fellow of Calcutta University and also a Fellow of the Asiatic Society. These were important honors.

Family Life

In 1913, Stanley Kemp married Agnes Green. Her father, Reverend William Spotswood Green, was famous for being the first person to climb Mount Cook in New Zealand.

Later Career and Discoveries

After his time in India, Stanley Kemp returned to Ireland in 1924. He became the first director of research for the Discovery Investigations. This project focused on ocean research.

From 1936 to 1945, he was the Director of the Marine Biological Association. This organization studies life in the ocean.

One of his cool discoveries was finding the first onychophoran (a type of worm-like animal) in the Indian region. He named it Typhloperipatus williamsoni.

Animals Named After Him

Stanley Kemp's work was so important that several animals were named in his honor!

• Two types of frogs, Philautus kempii and Bufoides kempi, are named after him.
• Philautus kempiae is named after his wife, Agnes.
• In 2018, scientists from the Zoological Survey of India discovered a new species of crab in Namdapha, Arunachal Pradesh, and named it Teretamon kempi after him.

Passing Away

Stanley Kemp passed away in Plymouth, Devon, in 1945. His scientific and personal papers are kept at the National Marine Biological Library, which is part of the Marine Biological Association. You can find some of his papers in the MBA Archive Collection.