Hugh Francis Cleghorn
Encyclopedia
Hugh Francis Clarke Cleghorn of Stravithie (9 August 1820 – 16 May 1895) was a pioneering Scottish physician, botanist and forester
who worked in India. Cleghorn is known as "the father of scientific forestry in India,"
and the plant genus name Cleghornia
was chosen (by the botanist Robert Wight
) in dedication to him.
Cleghorn endowed
the Chair of Forestry at Edinburgh University.
He was the son of the first British colonial secretary to Ceylon, Hugh Cleghorn
.
(MA 1834). Returning to Edinburgh to study medicine, in 1837 he was appointed as apprentice to the famous surgeon James Syme
. He qualified MD from the University of Edinburgh
in 1841.
He first served in India in 1842, as an assistant surgeon employed by the East India Company
at the Madras General Hospital
, then Mysore Commission, until 1848. Cleghorn returned to India in 1852 and was appointed Professor of Botany and Materia Medica
at Madras Medical College
. He also became the Honorary Secretary of the Madras Agri-Horticultural Society.
in Mysore in 1847. After returning to Britain in 1848 on sick leave, he gave several speeches about the failure of agriculture in India. These lectures spurred the Government of India to introduce forest conservation policies and Forest Departments in India and other colonies as well. He took part in cataloguing the raw-products shown in the Great Exhibition
in 1851. In 1855 Dr. Cleghorn was asked to organise the Madras Forest Department
and started systematic forest conservancy. In 1856 he was appointed Conservator of Forests in Madras Presidency
.
His persistent campaigning with the Government resulted in the banning of shifting cultivation
in the Madras Presidency in 1860. The ban was ordered while he was again on sick leave in Britain.
Taking the post of Joint Commissioner for Conservancy of Forests (1861-9), he returned to Madras in 1861 with cinchona
plants from Kew Gardens. The cinchona plantations around Ooty thrived and were seen as a possible substitute in blight-hit coffee estates, but when world prices of cinchona crashed, tea was seen as a better investment.
In 1861, the book: The forests and gardens of South India, by Hugh Cleghorn and illustrated by Douglas Hamilton
, was prepared at the request of Government, principally for the purpose of furnishing a continuous view of forest conservancy in the Madras Presidency during the four years that the department was in operation. One of his goals was to supply a manual to enable the forest assistants in positions of responsibility to act intelligently with good results to the State.
. He was on special duty with the Government of India about the years 1860-62, when he investigated forest matters in the North-Western Himalayas and elsewhere. He also afforded Mr. Sir Dietrich Brandis
, C.I.E., the most efficient assistance in introducing and systematically working conservancy in the forests of Bengal, and with the most satisfactory results. His work led to the establishment of the Forest Department of India
. With Sir Dietrich Brandis, he was the first Commissioner for the Conservancy of Forests. In 1864 was appointed Inspector-General of Forests.
He died at Stravithie, south of St Andrews
, Fife, on 16 May 1895.
Forester
250px|thumb|right|Foresters of [[Southern University of Chile|UACh]] in the [[Valdivian forest]]s of San Pablo de Tregua, ChileA forester is a person who practices forestry, the science, art, and profession of managing forests. Foresters engage in a broad range of activities including timber...
who worked in India. Cleghorn is known as "the father of scientific forestry in India,"
and the plant genus name Cleghornia
Cleghornia
Cleghornia is a genus of plants in the dogbane family; its various species are distributed in Borneo, China, Laos, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. The genus name was chosen in dedication to Dr. Hugh Cleghorn, the "father of scientific forestry in India".-External links:*...
was chosen (by the botanist Robert Wight
Robert Wight
Robert Wight was a Scottish surgeon and botanist who spent 30 years in India. He studied botany in Edinburgh under John Hope. He was the director of the Botanic Garden in Madras. He made use of local artists to make illustrations of the plants around him...
) in dedication to him.
Cleghorn endowed
Financial endowment
A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....
the Chair of Forestry at Edinburgh University.
He was the son of the first British colonial secretary to Ceylon, Hugh Cleghorn
Hugh Cleghorn (Ceylon)
Sir Hugh Cleghorn was the first colonial secretary to Ceylon. He was key in the takeover of Ceylon from Dutch control to the British Empire. In 1795 Cleghorn used his friendship with Comte Charles-Daniel de Meuron who was in charge of a Swiss Regiment, Regiment de Meuron, that controlled Ceylon...
.
Early life
Cleghorn was born in Madras on 9 August 1820, and educated at the High School in Edinburgh and the University of St AndrewsUniversity of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
(MA 1834). Returning to Edinburgh to study medicine, in 1837 he was appointed as apprentice to the famous surgeon James Syme
James Syme
James Syme was a pioneering Scottish surgeon.-Early life:He was born on 7 November in Edinburgh. His father was a writer to the signet and a landowner in Fife and Kinross, who lost most of his fortune in attempting to develop the mineral resources of his property...
. He qualified MD from the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
in 1841.
He first served in India in 1842, as an assistant surgeon employed by the East India Company
East India Company
The 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...
at the Madras General Hospital
Government General Hospital
Government General Hospital or G.G.H. is a major hospital situated in Chennai, India. The hospital is funded and managed by the state Government of Tamil Nadu; hence it is state-owned. It was founded in 1664 by the British East India Company...
, then Mysore Commission, until 1848. Cleghorn returned to India in 1852 and was appointed Professor of Botany and Materia Medica
Materia medica
Materia medica is a Latin medical term for the body of collected knowledge about the therapeutic properties of any substance used for healing . The term 'materia medica' derived from the title of a work by the Ancient Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides in the 1st century AD, De materia medica libre...
at Madras Medical College
Madras Medical College
The Madras Medical College is an educational institution located in Chennai, India. It was established on February 2, 1835. It is the oldest medical college in India, along with the Medical College Kolkata.-History:...
. He also became the Honorary Secretary of the Madras Agri-Horticultural Society.
Madras Forest Department
Dr. Cleghorn was interested in economic botany became involved with forest conservationSustainable forest management
Sustainable forest management is the management of forests according to the principles of sustainable development. Sustainable forest management uses very broad social, economic and environmental goals...
in Mysore in 1847. After returning to Britain in 1848 on sick leave, he gave several speeches about the failure of agriculture in India. These lectures spurred the Government of India to introduce forest conservation policies and Forest Departments in India and other colonies as well. He took part in cataloguing the raw-products shown in the Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations or The Great Exhibition, sometimes referred to as the Crystal Palace Exhibition in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held, was an international exhibition that took place in Hyde Park, London, from 1 May to 15 October...
in 1851. In 1855 Dr. Cleghorn was asked to organise the Madras Forest Department
Tamil Nadu Forest Department
The Tamil Nadu Forest Department was established as the Madras Forest Department in 1855 by Dr. Hugh Francis Cleghorn, "the father of scientific forestry in India". The department is responsible for managing all the protected areas and forests plus environmental and wildlife related issues of Tamil...
and started systematic forest conservancy. In 1856 he was appointed Conservator of Forests in Madras Presidency
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
.
His persistent campaigning with the Government resulted in the banning of shifting cultivation
Shifting cultivation
Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned. This system often involves clearing of a piece of land followed by several years of wood harvesting or farming, until the soil loses fertility...
in the Madras Presidency in 1860. The ban was ordered while he was again on sick leave in Britain.
Taking the post of Joint Commissioner for Conservancy of Forests (1861-9), he returned to Madras in 1861 with cinchona
Cinchona
Cinchona or Quina is a genus of about 38 species in the family Rubiaceae, native to tropical South America. They are large shrubs or small trees growing 5–15 metres in height with evergreen foliage. The leaves are opposite, rounded to lanceolate and 10–40 cm long. The flowers are white, pink...
plants from Kew Gardens. The cinchona plantations around Ooty thrived and were seen as a possible substitute in blight-hit coffee estates, but when world prices of cinchona crashed, tea was seen as a better investment.
Forests and gardens of South India
Douglas Hamilton
General Douglas Hamilton was a British Indian Army officer, gazetted to the 21st Regiment of the Madras Native Infantry from 1837 to 1871. He was a well known surveyor of the early British hill stations in South India and a famous sportsman, shikari, big-game hunter and trophy collector. He was an...
, was prepared at the request of Government, principally for the purpose of furnishing a continuous view of forest conservancy in the Madras Presidency during the four years that the department was in operation. One of his goals was to supply a manual to enable the forest assistants in positions of responsibility to act intelligently with good results to the State.
Forest Department of India
Cleghorn organised the new Forestry Department in Madras with such astonishing energy and success that in 1861 he was called on to advise Sir Robert Montgomery and extend the sphere of his operations into the PunjabPunjab (British India)
Punjab was a province of British India, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British rule. With the end of British rule in 1947 the province was split between West Punjab, which went to Pakistan, and East Punjab, which went to India...
. He was on special duty with the Government of India about the years 1860-62, when he investigated forest matters in the North-Western Himalayas and elsewhere. He also afforded Mr. Sir Dietrich Brandis
Dietrich Brandis
Sir Dietrich Brandis, KCIE, FRS was a German forester who worked in India. He is considered the father of tropical forestry.-Early life:...
, C.I.E., the most efficient assistance in introducing and systematically working conservancy in the forests of Bengal, and with the most satisfactory results. His work led to the establishment of the Forest Department of India
Ministry of Environment and Forests
The Ministry of Environment and Forests is an Indian government ministry. The Minister of Environment and Forests holds cabinet rank as a member of the Council of Ministers...
. With Sir Dietrich Brandis, he was the first Commissioner for the Conservancy of Forests. In 1864 was appointed Inspector-General of Forests.
Later years
Cleghorn left India in 1869. A member of the Edinburgh Botanical Society since 1839, he was elected president of the Society in 1870. He was elected president of the Scottish Arboricultural Society in 1872, and subsequently played an instrumental role in the establishment of a lectureship in Forestry in Edinburgh University.He died at Stravithie, south of St Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
, Fife, on 16 May 1895.