Henry Brougham Guppy was a British surgeon, geologist, botanist and photographer. He was awarded the Linnean Medal in 1917.
Life
He was born in Falmouth on the English coast the son of Dr. Thomas Stokes Guppy 1812–1893 a local physician, and his wife Charlott Ann Brougham 1826–1894. He was educated at Sherborne, and studied Medicine at Queen's College in Birmingham then Edinburgh University where he graduated MB CM. He worked as a surgeon in the Royal Navy from 1876 to 1885. He served on board HMS Hornet in the South China Seas and HMS Lark a survey ship in the western Pacific especially the Solomon Islands. He also spent a long time on shore in 1878 in Korea.
In 1888 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Sir William Turner, Hugh Robert Mill and Alexander Buchan. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1918.
Twenty questions, eight minutes on the clock, and a percentile measured against everyone who has taken it. No sign-up.
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He died en route from Tahiti to Britain on board the SS El Kantara whilst moored at Martinique.
Family
He married twice: firstly in 1887 to Mary Annie Jordan b.1854 whilst still in the Navy; secondly in 1900 to Letitia Warde of Yalding in Kent.
Legacy
Henry Brougham Guppy is commemorated in the scientific names of two species of reptiles: a gecko, Lepidodactylus guppyi, which is endemic to the Solomon Islands; and a snake, Uropeltis broughami, which is endemic to southern India.
Botanical Reference
The standard author abbreviation Guppy is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.
Publications
- 1879: Henry Good Guppy: His Life and Death at Erzeroum. London: Virtue & Co See Battle of Erzurum 1877 and Turkish Red Crescent.
- 1887: The Solomon Islands and Their Natives. London: Swan Sonnenschein, Lowrey & Co
- 1887: The Solomon Islands: Their Geology, General Features, and Suitability for Colonization. London: Swan Sonnenschein, Lowrey & Co
- 1890: Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. London: Harrison and Sons. lxv, 601 p.
- 1903: Observations of a Naturalist in the Pacific between 1896 and 1899. 2 vols. London: Macmillan, 1903–1906. v. 1. Vanua Levu, Fiji, a description of its leading physical and geological characters—v. 2. Plant-dispersal.
- 1906: Plant Dispersal
- 1912: Studies in Seeds and Fruits
- 1917: Plants, Seeds and Currents in the West Indies and Azores
