GB 0809 Garnham - GARNHAM, Percy Cyril Claude (1901-1994)

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0809 Garnham

Title

GARNHAM, Percy Cyril Claude (1901-1994)

Date(s)

  • 1966-1995 (Creation)

Level of description

Extent and medium

2 boxes

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Percy Cyril Claude Garnham was born in London, 15 January 1901; graduated from St Bartholomew's Hospital, 1923; Diploma in Public Health, 1924; moved to Kenya to take up a position with the Colonial Medical Service, 1925. Here he spent a number of years investigating and controlling outbreaks of epidemics such as yellow fever and sleeping sickness. His interests whilst in Kenya ranged from the viral aetiologies of Rift Valley Fever and Nairobi Sheep Disease, studied in cooperation with the service's Veterinary Department, and through bird malaria to monkey and human malaria.

When the Division of Insect Borne Diseases was set up in Nairobi, Garnham became its Malaria Research Officer and then Director. He submitted a thesis on malaria in Kisumu for the degree of MD which he gained in 1928, with the award of Gold Medal from the University of London. In 1947, Garnham returned to London where he became a Reader at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Much of his interest was in malaria parasites, but he also made major contributions on leishmaniasis, piroplasmosis, toxoplasmosis, haemogregarines and many other parasites. In January 1948 Garnham and Professor Henry Shortt discovered the pre-erythroctic stages of true malaria parasites. He was appointed chair of Protozoology in 1952, and became Head of the Department of Parasitology.

Garnham retired as Emeritus of the University of London in 1968 and was invited to be Research Fellow for Imperial College at Silwood Park in Ascot. He collected over 1000 type and voucher specimens of nearly 200 species of malaria parasites from 170 vertebrates or vectors. The collection was catalogued with Dr Tony Duggan and deposited in National History Museum. At the age of 71 Garnham launched an expedition to Borneo to rediscover and redescribe 'P. pitheci,' a malaria parasite of the orang-utan. He came across a new host 'P. silvaticum' in 1972. Between 1926 and 1989 Garnham published solely or jointly more than 400 papers, including 'Malaria Parasites and other Haemosporidia' in 1966. He retired in 1979 and wrote a book on the life of Edgar Allen Poe which was nearing completion on his death on Christmas Day 1994. During his lifetime Garner received Fellowship of the Royal Society, Corresponding Membership of five Foreign Scientific Academies, Honorary Membership of 16 Societies, 14 Medals and Prizes, Doctorates Honories Causa of 2 French Faculties of Medicine, an appointment as Pontifical Academician of the Vatican and the CMG award. Twenty-one taxa parasites and vectors were named after him.

Publications include: Malaria parasites and other haemosporidia (Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, 1966); Progress in parasitology Athlone Press, London, 1971) and Catalogue of the Garnham collection of malaria parasites and other haemosporidia by P C C Garnham and A J Duggan (Cambridge University Press [for] the Wellcome Trust, Cambridge, c1986).

Archival history

GB 0809 Garnham 1966-1995 Collection (fonds) 2 boxes Garnham , Professor , Percy Cyril Claude , 1901-1994 , Parasitologist

Percy Cyril Claude Garnham was born in London, 15 January 1901; graduated from St Bartholomew's Hospital, 1923; Diploma in Public Health, 1924; moved to Kenya to take up a position with the Colonial Medical Service, 1925. Here he spent a number of years investigating and controlling outbreaks of epidemics such as yellow fever and sleeping sickness. His interests whilst in Kenya ranged from the viral aetiologies of Rift Valley Fever and Nairobi Sheep Disease, studied in cooperation with the service's Veterinary Department, and through bird malaria to monkey and human malaria.

When the Division of Insect Borne Diseases was set up in Nairobi, Garnham became its Malaria Research Officer and then Director. He submitted a thesis on malaria in Kisumu for the degree of MD which he gained in 1928, with the award of Gold Medal from the University of London. In 1947, Garnham returned to London where he became a Reader at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Much of his interest was in malaria parasites, but he also made major contributions on leishmaniasis, piroplasmosis, toxoplasmosis, haemogregarines and many other parasites. In January 1948 Garnham and Professor Henry Shortt discovered the pre-erythroctic stages of true malaria parasites. He was appointed chair of Protozoology in 1952, and became Head of the Department of Parasitology.

Garnham retired as Emeritus of the University of London in 1968 and was invited to be Research Fellow for Imperial College at Silwood Park in Ascot. He collected over 1000 type and voucher specimens of nearly 200 species of malaria parasites from 170 vertebrates or vectors. The collection was catalogued with Dr Tony Duggan and deposited in National History Museum. At the age of 71 Garnham launched an expedition to Borneo to rediscover and redescribe 'P. pitheci,' a malaria parasite of the orang-utan. He came across a new host 'P. silvaticum' in 1972. Between 1926 and 1989 Garnham published solely or jointly more than 400 papers, including 'Malaria Parasites and other Haemosporidia' in 1966. He retired in 1979 and wrote a book on the life of Edgar Allen Poe which was nearing completion on his death on Christmas Day 1994. During his lifetime Garner received Fellowship of the Royal Society, Corresponding Membership of five Foreign Scientific Academies, Honorary Membership of 16 Societies, 14 Medals and Prizes, Doctorates Honories Causa of 2 French Faculties of Medicine, an appointment as Pontifical Academician of the Vatican and the CMG award. Twenty-one taxa parasites and vectors were named after him.

Publications include: Malaria parasites and other haemosporidia (Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, 1966); Progress in parasitology Athlone Press, London, 1971) and Catalogue of the Garnham collection of malaria parasites and other haemosporidia by P C C Garnham and A J Duggan (Cambridge University Press [for] the Wellcome Trust, Cambridge, c1986).

Papers from Professor W Peters, January 2004 and DVD from Peters, 2005.

Papers of Percy Cyril Claude Garnham, 1966-1995, relate to the last field research project, by Garnham, to Sabah, Malaysia, in 1972 and his death in 1994. Correspondence and notes regarding the expedition to Sabah include an introduction to the expedition and photographs and scanned images of Garnham at work, undated, (Garnham 01/01); typewritten notes with handwritten corrections concerning the film 'Expedition to Borneo', [1972], (Garnham 01/02); correspondence concerning blood films and a bibliography for protozoa, insects and acoredae, 1972-1973, (Garnham 01/03); correspondence, maps, diagrams, reports and notes related to the study of orang-utans including a draft copy of 'Malaria parasity of the orang-utan (pongo pygmaeus)' by Garnham and others, 1969-1975(Garnham 01/04); notes belonging to Peters including a workbook comprising diagrams of blood cells and notes and charts regarding parasites, 1972, (Garnham 01/05); Garnham's correspondence largely with Peters regarding the continuing work concerning malaria and chimpanzees, 1966-1991,(Garnham 01/06); photographs and diagrams including a photograph of G S de Silva outside the animal clinic in Sabah and a diagram indicating zoogeographic sub regions of the oriental region, c1970, (Garnham 01/07); correspondence largely to Wallace Peters including notes on the orang-utans in Sepilok, 1966-1974 (Garnham 01/08); correspondence notably regarding pongo paper, 1966-1975, (Garnham 01/09); photographs of chimp blood slides, c1970, (Garnham 01/10); correspondence mainly addressed to Peters, including notes and graphs of orang-utan study; correspondence regarding the setting up and funding of the project; and draft paper by Garnham, N Rajapaksa, W Peters, and R Killick-Kendrick 'Malaria parasites of the orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus)', 1969-1973, (Garnham 01/11); photographs of Sepilok, application for Government grant for scientific investigations, correspondence regarding blood films, slides and orang-utans and new buildings in Sepilok, notes and contents of reels of film from Sabah and Borneo, 1969-1977 (Garnham 01/12) and a documentary film entitled 'Expedition to Borneo, 1972', comprising footage of orang-utans in their natural surroundings, transferred to DVD (Garnham 01/13).

Papers also concern the death of Garnham and notably comprise correspondence from Claude Garnham, including a letter of thanks to Peters for writing Garnham's obituary; copies of many obituaries within various journals and newspapers including two in French; programme of service and thanksgiving for the life and work of Garnham and correspondence regarding the founding of an award in Garnham's memory, 1994-1995,(Garnham 02).

Arranged as set out in scope and content.

This collection is open for consultation. Please contact the Archivist to arrange an appointment. All researchers must complete and sign a user registration form which signifies their agreement to abide by the archive rules. All researchers are required to provide proof of identity bearing your signature (for example, a passport or debit card) when registering. Please see website for further information at www.lshtm.ac.uk/library/archives.

Photocopies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Archivist.

English and French

No additional finding aids exist.

The original taping of 'Expedition to Borneo, 1972' no longer exists and was never held by London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine archives also hold additional photographs of Garnham within the Admin collection and the Ross Institute collection which contains copies of some of Garnham's papers.

The Wellcome Library also holds Garnham's correspondence and notebooks, 1918-84 (PP/PCG).

Sources: R. Killick-Kendrick, 'P. C. C. Garnham' in BSP Newsletter (June 1995) p.4-5; W. Peters, 'Obituary: Professor P. C. C. Garnham, Cmg, MD, DSc, FRCP, Hon. FRCP(E), FRS' in Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, 89(2) (1995) p.217-219 and Oxford opac online catalogue.
Compiled by Samantha Velumyl, AIM25 cataloguer.

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

February 2008 Animals Awards Borneo Diagrams Diseases Documentary films Documents Drawings East Malaysia Films Garnham , Professor , Percy Cyril Claude , 1901-1994 , parasitologist Infectious diseases Information sources Insects Malaria Malaysia Mammals Maps Medical research Medical sciences Obituaries Parasitology Pathology Peters , Wallace , b 1924 , parasitologist Primates Sabah Social behaviour Social norms South East Asia Travel Travel abroad Tropical diseases Veterinary medicine Visual materials Zoology Illustrations Arthropods Vertebrates Organisms

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Papers from Professor W Peters, January 2004 and DVD from Peters, 2005.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Papers of Percy Cyril Claude Garnham, 1966-1995, relate to the last field research project, by Garnham, to Sabah, Malaysia, in 1972 and his death in 1994. Correspondence and notes regarding the expedition to Sabah include an introduction to the expedition and photographs and scanned images of Garnham at work, undated, (Garnham 01/01); typewritten notes with handwritten corrections concerning the film 'Expedition to Borneo', [1972], (Garnham 01/02); correspondence concerning blood films and a bibliography for protozoa, insects and acoredae, 1972-1973, (Garnham 01/03); correspondence, maps, diagrams, reports and notes related to the study of orang-utans including a draft copy of 'Malaria parasity of the orang-utan (pongo pygmaeus)' by Garnham and others, 1969-1975(Garnham 01/04); notes belonging to Peters including a workbook comprising diagrams of blood cells and notes and charts regarding parasites, 1972, (Garnham 01/05); Garnham's correspondence largely with Peters regarding the continuing work concerning malaria and chimpanzees, 1966-1991,(Garnham 01/06); photographs and diagrams including a photograph of G S de Silva outside the animal clinic in Sabah and a diagram indicating zoogeographic sub regions of the oriental region, c1970, (Garnham 01/07); correspondence largely to Wallace Peters including notes on the orang-utans in Sepilok, 1966-1974 (Garnham 01/08); correspondence notably regarding pongo paper, 1966-1975, (Garnham 01/09); photographs of chimp blood slides, c1970, (Garnham 01/10); correspondence mainly addressed to Peters, including notes and graphs of orang-utan study; correspondence regarding the setting up and funding of the project; and draft paper by Garnham, N Rajapaksa, W Peters, and R Killick-Kendrick 'Malaria parasites of the orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus)', 1969-1973, (Garnham 01/11); photographs of Sepilok, application for Government grant for scientific investigations, correspondence regarding blood films, slides and orang-utans and new buildings in Sepilok, notes and contents of reels of film from Sabah and Borneo, 1969-1977 (Garnham 01/12) and a documentary film entitled 'Expedition to Borneo, 1972', comprising footage of orang-utans in their natural surroundings, transferred to DVD (Garnham 01/13).

Papers also concern the death of Garnham and notably comprise correspondence from Claude Garnham, including a letter of thanks to Peters for writing Garnham's obituary; copies of many obituaries within various journals and newspapers including two in French; programme of service and thanksgiving for the life and work of Garnham and correspondence regarding the founding of an award in Garnham's memory, 1994-1995,(Garnham 02).

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Arranged as set out in scope and content.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

This collection is open for consultation. Please contact the Archivist to arrange an appointment. All researchers must complete and sign a user registration form which signifies their agreement to abide by the archive rules. All researchers are required to provide proof of identity bearing your signature (for example, a passport or debit card) when registering. Please see website for further information at www.lshtm.ac.uk/library/archives.

Conditions governing reproduction

Photocopies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied for research use only. Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Archivist.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English and French

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine archives also hold additional photographs of Garnham within the Admin collection and the Ross Institute collection which contains copies of some of Garnham's papers.

Finding aids

No additional finding aids exist.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

The Wellcome Library also holds Garnham's correspondence and notebooks, 1918-84 (PP/PCG).

Related descriptions

Publication note

Notes area

Note

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Rules and/or conventions used

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area