The Published Writings of

Robert Swinhoe.



ROBERT SWINHOE was born in Calcutta, India in 1836. In 1852 he was sent to London for his education, but while attending the University of London in 1854 he was recruited into the China consular corps by the Foreign Office. Prior to his departure for Hong Kong in May of that year, he deposited a small collection of British bird nests and eggs with the British Museum of Natural History.

Throughout the ensuing 23 years, Swinhoe continued his pursuit of the study of birds and other forms of wildlife, and it was through his status as HM Consul that he had unique access to China and its great islands of Taiwan (he was the first Western consul to be stationed on 'Formosa') and Hainan. The information he gathered and dispensed was of the greatest interest to his fellow naturalists worldwide. This was the 'golden age' of natural history, in fact, and there was nothing more important than acquiring accurate knowledge of the geographical distribution of species. During his career Swinhoe published over 120 articles on the zoology, geography and ethnography of Eastern and Northern China. Even though he was strictly speaking an amateur naturalist, he obtained within the scientific circle of the day the authority which allowed him to name and describe new species - over 200 birds and dozens of mammals - which remain objects of continued study by ornithologists and zoologists of many nationalities to this day. He also collected innumerable specimens of fish, reptiles, insects and other invertebrates and shipped them dutifully to the institution-bound specialists back in England who relied on field collectors for their studies. All of this was accomplished while he successfully pursued the strenuous career of consular representative, with its linguistic and diplomatic demands. It is not surprising to find that, at the end of his days in China (he retired in ill-health in 1873 from the Consular Corps, and died in 1877) he was widely regarded as "one of the most successful exploring naturalists that have ever lived" (P.L. Sclater, president of the Zoological Society of London).