Dr
Francis Buchanan, later known as
Francis Hamilton but often referred to as
Francis Buchanan-Hamilton (15 February 1762 - 15 June 1829) was a
ScotA Scot is a member of an ethnic group indigenous to Scotland.Scot may also refer to:People with the given name Scot:* Scot Brantley , American football linebacker* Scot Breithaupt , American cyclist...
tish
physicianA physician — also known as medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, medical doctor, or simply doctor — practices the ancient profession of medicine, which is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease or injury...
who made significant contributions as a
geographerGeography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, zoologist, and botanist while living in
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
.
He was born Francis Buchanan at Bardowie,
CallanderCallander is a burgh in the region of Stirling, Scotland, on the River Teith. The town is located in the former County of Perthshire, and is a popular tourist stop to and from the Highlands....
,
PerthshirePerthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
; his family originated in
SpittalSpittal or Spital, in earliest uses and, also common in the later period, found in place-names, probably chiefly applied to lands the revenues of which supported a hospital but, in some instances, the reference maybe to the site of a hospital. A house or place of refuge for the sick, especially one...
and claimed the chiefdom of the name of
Buchanan- Places :In Africa:* Buchanan, Liberia, a large coastal townIn Canada:* Buchanan, SaskatchewanIn Scotland:* Buchanan, StirlingIn the United States:* Buchanan, California** Buchanan, Madera County, California, former town...
.
Dr
Francis Buchanan, later known as
Francis Hamilton but often referred to as
Francis Buchanan-Hamilton (15 February 1762 - 15 June 1829) was a
ScotA Scot is a member of an ethnic group indigenous to Scotland.Scot may also refer to:People with the given name Scot:* Scot Brantley , American football linebacker* Scot Breithaupt , American cyclist...
tish
physicianA physician — also known as medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, medical doctor, or simply doctor — practices the ancient profession of medicine, which is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease or injury...
who made significant contributions as a
geographerGeography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, zoologist, and botanist while living in
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
.
He was born Francis Buchanan at Bardowie,
CallanderCallander is a burgh in the region of Stirling, Scotland, on the River Teith. The town is located in the former County of Perthshire, and is a popular tourist stop to and from the Highlands....
,
PerthshirePerthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
; his family originated in
SpittalSpittal or Spital, in earliest uses and, also common in the later period, found in place-names, probably chiefly applied to lands the revenues of which supported a hospital but, in some instances, the reference maybe to the site of a hospital. A house or place of refuge for the sick, especially one...
and claimed the chiefdom of the name of
Buchanan- Places :In Africa:* Buchanan, Liberia, a large coastal townIn Canada:* Buchanan, SaskatchewanIn Scotland:* Buchanan, StirlingIn the United States:* Buchanan, California** Buchanan, Madera County, California, former town...
. Francis studied
medicineMedicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
at the
University of EdinburghThe University of Edinburgh founded in 1582, is an internationally renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. It is the sixth university to be established in the British Isles, making it one of the ancient universities of the United Kingdom.The university is amongst the...
. After several voyages on Merchant Navy ships to
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
, he served in the Bengal Medical Service from 1794 to 1815. He also studied botany under John Hope in Edinburgh.
From 1803 to 1804 he was surgeon to the Governor General of India
Lord WellesleyRichard Colley Wesley, later Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley KG, PC , styled Viscount Wellesley from birth until 1781, was an Irish politician and colonial administrator. He was the eldest son of Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington, an Irish peer, and brother of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of...
in Calcutta, where he also organized a zoo that was to become the Calcutta Alipore Zoo. From 1807 to 1814, under the instructions of the government of
BengalBengal , is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent...
, he made a comprehensive survey of the areas within the jurisdiction of the
British East India CompanyThe East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
. He was asked to report on topography, history, antiquities, the condition of the inhabitants, religion, natural productions (particularly fisheries, forests, mines, and quarries), agriculture (covering vegetables, implements, manure, floods, domestic animals, fences, farms, and landed property, fine and common arts, and commerce (exports and imports, weights and measures, and conveyance of goods). His conclusions are reported in a series of treatises that are retained in major
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
libraries; many have been re-issued in modern editions. They include an important work on
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
n fish species, entitled
An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges and its branches (1822), which describes over 100 species not formerly recognised scientifically. He also collected and described many new
plantPlants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The scientific study of plants, known as botany, has identified about 350,000 extant species of plants, defined as seed plants,...
s in the region, and collected a series of watercolours of Indian and
NepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia and the world's youngest republic. It is bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
ese plants and animals, probably painted by Indian artists, which are now in the library of the
Linnean Society of LondonThe Linnean Society of London is the world's premier society for the study and dissemination of taxonomy and natural history. It publishes a Zoological Journal, as well as Botanical and Biological Journals...
. After Tippu's defeat in 1799, he was asked to survey southern India resulting in
A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar (1807). He also wrote
An Account of the Kingdom of Nepal (1819).
He succeeded
William RoxburghWilliam Roxburgh was a Scottish surgeon and botanist. He has been called the Father of Indian Botany.-Early life:Roxburgh was born at Underwood in the parish of Craigie, Ayrshire. He studied medicine in Edinburgh...
to become the Superintendent of the
Calcutta botanical gardenThe Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanical Garden are situated in Shibpur, Howrah near Kolkata. They are commonly known as the Calcutta Botanical Garden, and previously as "The Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta"...
in 1814, but had to return to
BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
in 1815 due to his ill health. In an interesting incident the notes that he took of Hope's botany lectures in 1780 was lent to his shipmate Alexander Boswell during a voyage in 1785. Boswell, lost the notes in Satyamangalam in Mysore and the notes went into the hands of Tippu Sultan who had them rebound. In 1800 they were found in Tippu's library by a major Ogg who returned it to Buchanan.
The standard botanical author abbreviation
Buch.-Ham. is applied to plants and animals he described, though the form "Hamilton, 1822" is more today usually seen in
ichthyologyIchthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish. This includes skeletal fish , cartilaginous fish , and jawless fish...
and is preferred by
FishbaseFishBase is a comprehensive database of information about fish. , it included descriptions of over 30,000 species, over 260,000 common names in hundreds of languages, over 46,000 pictures, and references to more than 42,000 works in the scientific literature....
.
Buchanan left India in 1815, and in the same year inherited his mother's estate and in consequence took her surname of Hamilton, referring to himself as "Francis Hamilton, formerly Buchanan" or simply "Francis Hamilton". However he is variously referred to by others as "Buchanan-Hamilton", "Francis Hamilton Buchanan" or "Francis Buchanan Hamilton".