William Ogilby facts for kids

William Ogilby (1805–1873) was an Irish zoologist, a scientist who studies animals. He was a leader in classifying and naming animal species in the 1830s. He also served as the Secretary of the Zoological Society of London from 1839 to 1847. Later in his life, he moved back to Ireland during the Great Famine and helped many people. He also built a large castle called Altinaghree Castle in County Tyrone. A mountain in Queensland, Australia, was named Mount Ogilby after him in 1846.

Early Life and Education

William Ogilby was born in County Londonderry, Ireland, in 1805. His father, Leslie Ogilby, owned a linen business. The Ogilby family was involved in the linen trade for a long time and some of them were quite wealthy. William was recognized as his father's heir from a young age.

He went to school in Macclesfield, England, then to Belfast Academical Institution, and finally to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1824. He finished his studies in 1828 and later became a lawyer in 1832. Even though he studied law, William was much more interested in natural history and science.

His family members also loved nature. His uncle, Alexander Ogilby, had a collection of fossils. His aunt, Elizabeth Ogilby, found a very large natural crystal. And his older cousin, Leslie Ogilby, was a skilled naturalist and botanist who grew rare Irish plants. These family interests likely helped spark William's own passion for the natural world.

Discovering New Animals

While still a student in 1827, William Ogilby studied a living animal he called the "whitefooted Paraduxure." He looked at it again in London in 1828. By then, he knew a lot about animal structures and taxonomy, which is the science of classifying living things. He realized this animal was a new species that hadn't been described before.

He classified it as being between a common genet and a common cat, and he named it Paradoxurus leucopus. His description of this new animal was published in The Zoological Journal in January 1829. This was the first of his many important contributions to zoological research.

After moving to London, Ogilby could access many animal specimens and scientific works. He visited famous museums like the British Museum and the Zoological Society of London's menagerie (a type of zoo). He also traveled to museums in Leiden and Paris, and observed animals in zoos in London and Paris. He even visited Germany and the Cape Colony (in South Africa) to learn more.

Working with the Zoological Society

From 1830 onwards, William Ogilby became very active at the Zoological Society. He often presented papers and talked about new animal specimens that were given to the Society's museum. He described and classified many new mammals and birds from places like Australia, Africa, the Americas, and India.

He also named several new groups of animals, called genera, including Cynictis (1833), Madoqua (1836), Pseudocheirus (1837), Chaeropus and Conilurus (1838). He became a Fellow (a respected member) of the Zoological Society, as well as the Linnean, Geological, and Royal Astronomical Societies.

In 1839, he became the Secretary of the Zoological Society. In this role, he managed the Society's letters, organized its museum, kept records of the animals in the zoo, and suggested which new animals to buy. After becoming Secretary, he wrote fewer scientific papers, but he continued in the role until 1847.

Animals Named After Him

William Ogilby's careful research was recognized by other scientists. In 1838, George Robert Waterhouse named a new species of antelope after him: Cephalophus ogilbii, also known as Ogilby's duiker. The year before, William Henry Sykes named a new type of carp fish, Rohtee ogilbii, in his honor.

In 1846, Sir Thomas Mitchell, an explorer, named Mount Ogilby in Queensland, Australia, after him. Mitchell said he named it after Ogilby because he was one of the people "most distinguished or zealous in the advancement of science."

His Idea: The Order of Chiropoda

In 1829, while studying howler monkeys, Ogilby noticed something important. These monkeys didn't hold things with their "thumb and finger" like humans do. Their "thumbs" were in line with their other fingers, not opposite them. He studied other South American monkeys and saw this was true for all of them.

Before, monkeys were often called quadrumana (meaning "four-handed"). But Ogilby believed they were more like pedimana (meaning "foot-handed") because their feet acted more like hands.

Ogilby thought that the way hands were structured was a key way to group certain mammals. He suggested a new group of mammals called cheiropoda (meaning "possessing hands"). This group would include bimana (humans, who have two hands), quadrumana (Old World monkeys), and pedimana (New World monkeys).

He presented this idea in 1836. His paper was highly praised by other scientists. His book, The Natural History of Monkeys, Opossums, and Lemurs (1838), further explained his ideas.

However, not everyone agreed with his idea. Some people didn't like the idea of humans being so closely linked to apes. By 1863, his idea of classifying mammals based only on their thumbs was not widely accepted.

Rules for Naming Animals

In 1833, Ogilby joined a committee that looked at how to name animals in a consistent way. In 1842, he was one of eight original members of a group that tried to create rules for zoological names. Other famous scientists, like Charles Darwin, were also part of this group.

This group created what became known as the "Strickland Rules." These rules were the first attempt to create an international code for naming things in any science. They are the basis for all modern rules for naming plants and animals.

Ogilby agreed with most of the rules, but he had one disagreement. The rules said that an animal's name could be changed if its meaning turned out to be "false." Ogilby believed that once a name was given, it should stay the same, even if its original meaning wasn't perfect. He thought that words were just ways to express an idea, and as long as everyone agreed on the idea, the exact original meaning of the words didn't matter. Because of this, he was the only original member who didn't sign the final report.

Life in Ireland

William Ogilby inherited his father's estate in Ireland in 1845, just as the Great Famine was starting. This was a very difficult time in Ireland, with many people starving. In 1846, he resigned from his role at the Zoological Society to focus on helping people on his estate.

He explained that he was giving daily jobs to many families to prevent them from starving. He borrowed money to improve his land for farming, which allowed him to employ hundreds of people every day. He believed he was helping "1,500 to 2,000 human beings who would otherwise have starved." By 1860, he had transformed his "wild and mountainous" land into a beautiful estate.

Even though he was busy in Ireland, his interest in natural history continued. He became a member of the Royal Irish Academy in 1849. He also gave talks about animals and their distribution in connection with human civilization.

In 1830, he married Matilda Doria. He even named a beautiful antelope species, Antilope doria, in her honor. Sadly, Matilda died in 1849. They did not have any children.

A year later, Ogilby married Adelaide Douglas. For the next twenty years, he lived as a respected landowner in Ireland. He became a captain in the local militia and served as a high sheriff and magistrate.

In the 1860s, he greatly expanded his home, Liscleen Lodge, turning it into Altinaghree Castle. This large castle became a place for fashionable Irish society to visit. He was also involved in local farming societies, won prizes for his cattle, and planted many trees. His plantation of deodar trees, covering 11 acres, was said to be the largest in Europe.

In 1872, he stopped farming and moved his family to Dublin for his children's education.

Later Years and Death

In his later years, William Ogilby became very interested in astronomy, the study of stars and planets. In 1872, he published a book called A New Theory of the Figure of the Earth. In this book, he shared his belief in a divine creator of life. He felt that the ability of species to change and develop showed that creation was "complete and perfect."

William Ogilby died at his home in Dublin on September 1, 1873.

His Children

William Ogilby had four sons and five daughters with his second wife, Adelaide. Two of his sons died when they were babies.

His older surviving son, Claud Ogilby (1851–1894), struggled later in life and didn't manage Altinaghree Castle well. The castle was in ruins by 1894.

His younger son, James Douglas Ogilby (1853–1925), became a famous athlete. He was a champion sprinter in Ireland for four years in a row and was considered one of the best amateur sprinters in the world. He was also an excellent swimmer. James first studied birds but later focused on fish, moving to Australia in 1884.