Henry Baker Tristram | |
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| Born | (1822-05-11)11 May 1822 Eglingham, Northumberland, England |
| Died | 8 March 1906(1906-03-08) (aged 83) |
| Alma mater | Lincoln College, Oxford |
| Known for | Travel, science in Middle East |
| Awards | Fellow of Royal Society |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Ornithology |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Tristram |
Henry Baker Tristram FRS (11 May 1822 – 8 March 1906) was an English clergyman, Bible scholar, traveller andornithologist. As aparson-naturalist he was an early, but short-lived, supporter of Darwinism, attempting to reconcile evolution and creation.
He was the son of the Rev. Henry Baker Tristram,[1] born atEglingham vicarage, nearAlnwick, Northumberland. He studied atDurham School andLincoln College, Oxford. In 1846 he was ordained a priest.
Tristram was secretary to the governor ofBermuda from 1847 to 1849. He explored theSahara desert, and in 1858 visitedPalestine, returning there in 1863 and 1872, and dividing his time between natural history observations and identifying localities mentioned in the Old and New Testaments. In 1873 he became canon ofDurham Cathedral. In 1881 he travelled again to Palestine, theLebanon,Mesopotamia, andArmenia. He also made a second voyage to Japan to visit his daughter,Katherine Alice Salvin Tristram,[2] in 1891.[3] She was amissionary and headteacher inOsaka.[4] She was the first woman missionary with the Church Missionary Society to have a degree.[5] In his journals taken during his travels in Palestine, he described Bedouins, Jews and Muslims in disparaging terms.[6]
In 1858, he read the simultaneously published papers byCharles Darwin andAlfred Russel Wallace that were read in theLinnean Society, and published a paper inIbis stating that given the "series of about 100Larks of various species before me... I cannot help feeling convinced of the views set forth by Messrs Darwin and Wallace." He attempted to reconcile this early acceptance ofevolution with creation.[7] Following the famousOxford Debate betweenThomas Henry Huxley andSamuel Wilberforce, Tristram, after early acceptance of the theory, rejected Darwinism.[8]
Tristram was a founder and original member of theBritish Ornithologists' Union, and appointed a fellow of theRoyal Society in 1868.Edward Bartlett, an English ornithologist and son ofAbraham Dee Bartlett, accompanied Tristram to Palestine in 1863–1864. During his travels he accumulated an extensive collection of bird skins, which he sold to theWorld Museum Liverpool.[9]
Tristram's publications included
A number of birds were named after him, includingTristram's starling (also called Tristram's grackle),Tristram's bunting,Tristram's warbler,Tristram's woodpecker,Tristram's serin, andTristram's storm-petrel. He also lent his name to the gerbilMeriones tristrami[10] (also called Tristram's jird). He is also commemorated in the scientific name of a species of lizard,Acanthodactylus tristrami.[11]
He married Eleanor Mary Bowlby in Cheltenham on 5 February 1850. Their eight children included missionary and headteacherKatherine Alice Salvin Tristram.[3]
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