Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1824-1874 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
21 files
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Born in 1800 or 1801; educated at Macclesfield grammar school until 1814; Richmond, Surrey, 1814-1816; nominated for the Bengal civil service, 1816; East India Company training college, 1817; arrived in Calcutta early in 1818; studied Sanskrit and Persian at Fort William College; assistant commissioner of Kumaon, 1819; assistant residentship at the Nepalese capital, Katmandu, 1820; acting deputy secretary in the Persian department of the Foreign Office, 1822; Katmandu, residency postmaster, 1824; assistant resident, 1825; studied Nepalese institutions and commerce and became proficient in Nepali and Newari, 1820-1821; retained at his own expense a group of local research assistants, training himself and some of his staff as naturalists, specializing particularly in ornithology; he described 39 new mammalian and 150 bird species and published 127 zoological papers; collector of Buddhist scriptures in Sanskrit and Tibetan and was the first to reveal to the West the Sanskrit literature of northern, or Mahayana, Buddhism; acting resident, 1829-1831; resident, 21 January 1833, resigned from the civil service and returned to England, 1844; returned to India in 1845; continued work on zoology and the physical geology of the Himalayas, but concentrated in particular on the ethnology of the peoples of northern India, relying extensively on linguistic comparisons; the botanist Joseph Hooker stayed with him from 1848 to 1850; left India in 1858 and retired to Gloucestershire; died 1894. Member of the Royal Asiatic Society (1828), elected a fellow of the Linnean Society (1835) and of the Royal Society (1877), made a chevalier of the Légion d'honneur (1838), and awarded the honorary degree of DCL at Oxford University (1889).
Repository
Archival history
GB 0814 ZFA 1824-1874 Collection (fonds) 21 files Hodgson , Brian Houghton , 1800-1894 , Indian civil servant and naturalist
Born in 1800 or 1801; educated at Macclesfield grammar school until 1814; Richmond, Surrey, 1814-1816; nominated for the Bengal civil service, 1816; East India Company training college, 1817; arrived in Calcutta early in 1818; studied Sanskrit and Persian at Fort William College; assistant commissioner of Kumaon, 1819; assistant residentship at the Nepalese capital, Katmandu, 1820; acting deputy secretary in the Persian department of the Foreign Office, 1822; Katmandu, residency postmaster, 1824; assistant resident, 1825; studied Nepalese institutions and commerce and became proficient in Nepali and Newari, 1820-1821; retained at his own expense a group of local research assistants, training himself and some of his staff as naturalists, specializing particularly in ornithology; he described 39 new mammalian and 150 bird species and published 127 zoological papers; collector of Buddhist scriptures in Sanskrit and Tibetan and was the first to reveal to the West the Sanskrit literature of northern, or Mahayana, Buddhism; acting resident, 1829-1831; resident, 21 January 1833, resigned from the civil service and returned to England, 1844; returned to India in 1845; continued work on zoology and the physical geology of the Himalayas, but concentrated in particular on the ethnology of the peoples of northern India, relying extensively on linguistic comparisons; the botanist Joseph Hooker stayed with him from 1848 to 1850; left India in 1858 and retired to Gloucestershire; died 1894. Member of the Royal Asiatic Society (1828), elected a fellow of the Linnean Society (1835) and of the Royal Society (1877), made a chevalier of the Légion d'honneur (1838), and awarded the honorary degree of DCL at Oxford University (1889).
Donated
Papers of Brian Houghton Hodgson, 1824-1874, comprising annotated British Museum Catalogues, " Brief Notices of Several New or Little-Known Species of Mammalia", 1855; List of specimens sent to British Museum, [1846]; notebook by Archibald Campbell in Nepal and annotated by Hodgson, 1833; catalogue of a collection of Mammalia from Nepal, Sikim, and Tibet, 1856; copies of printed papers, 1846-1848; correspondence, 1836-1874; correspondence and lists concerning the proposed publication of drawings, 1836-1845; descriptions of the animals of Nepal, Sikim and Tibet, 1830-1857; letters from Joseph Hooker to Brian H Hodgson, 1848-1850; lists of drawings and specimens, 1835-1838; lists of drawings and specimens sent to various recipients, 1842-1874; manuscripts of journal articles, 1831-1847; 'Memoranda of manners and habits of the birds of my Collection (according to the numbers attached to the drawings). Done by my native sportsmen or Shikarees and translated by my Writer', 1846-1857; miscellaneous journal articles, 1843-1846; notebook containing copies of letters to Hodgson, 1833-1842; Zoological Memos of 1846 made on the way from Monghys to Darjiling, 1846; Zoology Nepal notebooks, 1824-1827.
Arranged in 20 series.
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English
For series level descriptions see The Zoological Society of London website
Entry transcribed by Sarah Drewery, April 2011. Sources: Oxford DNB.
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.
April 2011 Eden , George , 1784-1849 , Earl of Auckland , Governor General of India , statesman Gray , John Edward , 1800-1875 , naturalist Hodgson , Brian Houghton , 1800-1894 , Indian civil servant and naturalist Ogilby , William , 1808-1873 , ZSL Secretary Campbell , Archibald J , fl 1833 , surgeon Stanley , Edward Smith , 1775-1851 , 13th Earl of Derby x Derby , 13th Earl of Gunther , Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf , 1830-1914 , zoologist Strickland , Hugh Edwin , 1811-1853 , geologist and zoologist Ball , Robert , 1802-1857 , naturalist Hume , James , fl 1848 , Secretary of the Agricultural Society Burnett , Sir , William , 1779-1861 , Knight , physician Mitchell , David William , 1814-1859 , zoologist Waterhouse , George Robert , 1810-1888 , naturalist Organisms Native animals Ornithology Zoology Animals Illustrations Biology Anatomy Visual materials Drawings Museums Specialized museums Science museums Natural history museums Zoological Society of London British Museum (Natural History) x Natural History Museum East India Company Royal Asiatic Society Royal College Of Surgeons of England Sikkim South Asia India Nepal Tibet China East Asia Himalayas
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Donated
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Papers of Brian Houghton Hodgson, 1824-1874, comprising annotated British Museum Catalogues, " Brief Notices of Several New or Little-Known Species of Mammalia", 1855; List of specimens sent to British Museum, [1846]; notebook by Archibald Campbell in Nepal and annotated by Hodgson, 1833; catalogue of a collection of Mammalia from Nepal, Sikim, and Tibet, 1856; copies of printed papers, 1846-1848; correspondence, 1836-1874; correspondence and lists concerning the proposed publication of drawings, 1836-1845; descriptions of the animals of Nepal, Sikim and Tibet, 1830-1857; letters from Joseph Hooker to Brian H Hodgson, 1848-1850; lists of drawings and specimens, 1835-1838; lists of drawings and specimens sent to various recipients, 1842-1874; manuscripts of journal articles, 1831-1847; 'Memoranda of manners and habits of the birds of my Collection (according to the numbers attached to the drawings). Done by my native sportsmen or Shikarees and translated by my Writer', 1846-1857; miscellaneous journal articles, 1843-1846; notebook containing copies of letters to Hodgson, 1833-1842; Zoological Memos of 1846 made on the way from Monghys to Darjiling, 1846; Zoology Nepal notebooks, 1824-1827.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Arranged in 20 series.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Available. Please make an appointment in advance of your visit.
Conditions governing reproduction
Please contact the Archive for further information.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
For series level descriptions see The Zoological Society of London website
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
- Zoology » Ornithology
- Zoology
- Zoology » Animals
- Visual materials » Illustrations
- Biology
- Anatomy
- Visual materials
- Visual materials » Drawings
- Museums
- Museums » Specialized museums
- Museums » Specialized museums » Science museums
- Museums » Specialized museums » Science museums » Natural history museums
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Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
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