George Bennett (naturalist)

George Bennett
Bennett in c. 1880
Born(1804-01-31)31 January 1804
Plymouth, England
Died29 September 1893(1893-09-29) (aged 89)
Sydney, Australia
OccupationsPhysician, naturalist
Known forCasuarius bennettii, Dendrolagus bennettianus, Myrrophis bennetti

George Bennett FRCS FLS FZS (31 January 1804 – 29 September 1893) was an English-born Australian physician and naturalist, winner of the Clarke Medal in 1890.

Early life

Bennett was born at Plymouth, England. On leaving school at 15 years of age he visited Ceylon and on his return studied for the medical profession, initially at Plymouth, later at the Middlesex Hospital and the Hunterian School of Medicine. He obtained the degree of M.R.C.S. on 7 March 1828, and later became F.R.C.S.

Career


Portrait of Dr George Bennett

In 1833, Bennett lent support in absentia to the founding of what became the Royal Entomological Society of London. Bennett was awarded the honorary gold medal of the Royal College of Surgeons in recognition of his contributions to zoological science.

A portrait of Elau, a young Melanesian girl from Erromango.
Portrait of Elau

Elau and the gibbon

In addition to the nautilus, Bennett took a Sumatran gibbon specimen to England as well as a young Erromangan girl named Elau, who was the first person from the New Hebrides to visit Europe. All died swiftly, with Elau surviving 4 years until the age of 10 before dying of tuberculosis. Bennett had Elau and the ape dissected. His method of acquisition of Elau is unclear, but his intentions were to 'civilise' her in an effort to investigate the nature of 'goodness' and investigate his and his peers' theories that were based in scientific racism.

Late life and legacy

Bennett was 84 years of age when he contributed the chapter on "Mammals" to the Handbook of Sydney. Bennett died in Sydney on 29 September 1893.

Bennett is commemorated in the scientific names of the dwarf cassowary (Casuarius bennettii), Bennett's tree-kangaroo (Dendrolagus bennettianus), Bennett's two-pored dragon (Diporiphora bennettii), and Bennett's water snake (Myrrophis bennetti).

George Bennett in late life

He left a large library of books on Australiana that was purchased by William Dymock.

Family

Bennett married three times: on 28 November 1835 to Julia Anne Ludovina Cameron (c. 1820 – 15 June 1846), daughter of Charles Cameron and step-daughter of John Finnis. She took her own life by taking prussic acid. They had two sons and three daughters. He married Charlotte James Elliott (c. 1817 – 20 February 1853) on 10 December 1846; they had one son. He married Sarah Jane Adcock on 4 January 1854; their two children died as infants.

Works authored

The standard author abbreviation G.Benn. is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.

References

  1. ↑ Mennell, Philip (1892). "Bennett, George" . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co – via Wikisource.
  2. 1 2 3 4 A. H. Chisholm (1966). "Bennett, George (1804 - 1893)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. pp. 85–86. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  3. 1 2 Serle, Percival (1949). "Bailey, George Bennett". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  4. ↑ Lindstrom, Lamont (1998). "Sophia Elau, Ungka the Gibbon, and the Pearly Nautilus". The Journal of Pacific History. 33 (1): 5–27. doi:10.1080/00223349808572856. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  5. ↑ Lindstrom, Lamont (1998). "Sophia Elau, Ungka the Gibbon, and the Pearly Nautilus". The Journal of Pacific History. 33 (1): 5–27. ISSN 0022-3344.
  6. ↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Bennett, G.", p. 23).
  7. ↑ Stitz, Charles (June 2011). "The story of Australian book collectors". Biblionews (370): 56.
  8. ↑ "Melancholy Suicide". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 16 June 1846. p. 2. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Review of Wanderings in New South Wales, Batavia, Pedir Coast, Singapore, and China; being the Journal of a Naturalist during 1832, 1833, and 1834 by George Bennett". The Quarterly Review. 53: 1–19. February 1835.
  10. ↑ International Plant Names Index. G.Benn.