Charles Francis Massy SwynnertonCMG (3 December 1877 – 8 June 1938) was an English naturalist noted for his contributions to tsetse fly research.
Swynnerton was born in Folkestone, Kent on 3 December 1877. His father was a senior chaplain in the Indian Army, and his mother the daughter of Major W. H. Massy, of Grantstown Hall, Tipperary. Swynnerton spent his early years in India, returning to England to start his schooling at Lancing College in Sussex. In 1897 he was accepted at Oxford University, but emigrated to Africa instead.
In Natal he met the renowned entomologist and authority on Curculionidae, Guy Anstruther Knox Marshall (1871–1959), who owned some farms in Southern Rhodesia and persuaded Swynnerton to manage one of these in the Melsetter district. In 1900 he became manager of Gungunyana Farm close to the Chirinda Forest in the Chipinga District - this farm was also bought by Guy Marshall in 1902.[1] Despite his lack of formal scientific education he began a career which would end with serious international recognition as an entomologist.[2] For the following 19 years Swynnerton used the farm as a base and worked on comprehensive collections of plants, birds and insects, the plants being written up later in 1911 in J. Linn. Soc. (Bot.) 40:1-245 as Flora of Gazaland. The British Museum was a regular recipient of his plant and insect specimens which were lauded for displaying "a precision in localisation and notes on economic uses which made this collection a model one". He was elected a Fellow of the Linnaean Society in 1907. From the farm he made a number of collecting trips to the nearby Chimanimani Mountains. During this period Guy Marshall became chief editor of the Bulletin of Entomological Research and remained a close friend and mentor to Swynnerton.[1]
He was primarily interested in the ecological interactions of the tsetse fly (Glossina).[2] The Rhodesian government appointed him in 1918 to research the tsetse fly problem, later that year extending his brief to also cover Mozambique. In 1919 he was appointed as the first game warden of Tanganyika,[2] again with a brief to investigate the tsetse situation, becoming the first director of Tanganyika's tsetse control department,[2] and Director of Tsetse Research at Shinyanga ten years later. His career trajectory resembles that of Clement Gillman, also known for east African field work.[2]
^Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Swynnerton", p. 259).
^"The Tsetse Flies of East Africa". Nature. Nature Portfolio. 139 (3522): 734–735. 1937. Bibcode:1937Natur.139..734.. doi:10.1038/139734a0. ISSN 0028-0836. S2CID 9982814.
charles, francis, massy, swynnerton, december, 1877, june, 1938, english, naturalist, noted, contributions, tsetse, research, swynnerton, born, folkestone, kent, december, 1877, father, senior, chaplain, indian, army, mother, daughter, major, massy, grantstown. Charles Francis Massy Swynnerton CMG 3 December 1877 8 June 1938 was an English naturalist noted for his contributions to tsetse fly research Swynnerton was born in Folkestone Kent on 3 December 1877 His father was a senior chaplain in the Indian Army and his mother the daughter of Major W H Massy of Grantstown Hall Tipperary Swynnerton spent his early years in India returning to England to start his schooling at Lancing College in Sussex In 1897 he was accepted at Oxford University but emigrated to Africa instead In Natal he met the renowned entomologist and authority on Curculionidae Guy Anstruther Knox Marshall 1871 1959 who owned some farms in Southern Rhodesia and persuaded Swynnerton to manage one of these in the Melsetter district In 1900 he became manager of Gungunyana Farm close to the Chirinda Forest in the Chipinga District this farm was also bought by Guy Marshall in 1902 1 Despite his lack of formal scientific education he began a career which would end with serious international recognition as an entomologist 2 For the following 19 years Swynnerton used the farm as a base and worked on comprehensive collections of plants birds and insects the plants being written up later in 1911 in J Linn Soc Bot 40 1 245 as Flora of Gazaland The British Museum was a regular recipient of his plant and insect specimens which were lauded for displaying a precision in localisation and notes on economic uses which made this collection a model one He was elected a Fellow of the Linnaean Society in 1907 From the farm he made a number of collecting trips to the nearby Chimanimani Mountains During this period Guy Marshall became chief editor of the Bulletin of Entomological Research and remained a close friend and mentor to Swynnerton 1 He was primarily interested in the ecological interactions of the tsetse fly Glossina 2 The Rhodesian government appointed him in 1918 to research the tsetse fly problem later that year extending his brief to also cover Mozambique In 1919 he was appointed as the first game warden of Tanganyika 2 again with a brief to investigate the tsetse situation becoming the first director of Tanganyika s tsetse control department 2 and Director of Tsetse Research at Shinyanga ten years later His career trajectory resembles that of Clement Gillman also known for east African field work 2 In 1937 he was awarded the Order of St Michael and St George However on 8 June 1938 on his way to receiving the award he died in a de Havilland Leopard Moth plane crash near Mjari in Tanganyika His obituary in Nature was penned by Sir Guy Marshall Patronymic taxa EditSwynnerton is commemorated by the genus Swynnertonia Swynnerton s robin and in some 40 specific plant names as well as bird and insect names 3 Also a species of African worm lizard Chirindia swynnertoni 4 the cichlid Astatotilapia swynnertoni and Glossina swynnertoni are named in his honour External links EditPhoto of memorial plaqueWorks Edit1911 Flora of Gazaland Linnaean Society Swynnerton C F M 1936 The Tsetse Flies of East Africa a First Study of their Ecology with a View to their Control Royal Entomological Society pp xxxvi 579 22 plates 7 maps ASIN B000ZR8PVO 5 6 7 Vernacular Names of East African Mammals edited by C F M Swynnerton Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London 84 p 547 552 8 The standard author abbreviation Swynn is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name 9 References Edit a b Flora of Zimbabwe a b c d e Clement Gillman 1882 1946 Biographical Notes on a Pioneer East African Geographer East African Geographical Review Makerere Makerere University Hoyle Brian S pp 1 16 ISSN 1937 6812 ISSN 2163 2642 LCCN 67 38577 OCLC 51782062 Brummitt R K C E Powell 1992 Authors of Plant Names Royal Botanic Gardens Kew ISBN 1 84246 085 4 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 Swynnerton p 259 The Tsetse Flies of East Africa Nature Nature Portfolio 139 3522 734 735 1937 Bibcode 1937Natur 139 734 doi 10 1038 139734a0 ISSN 0028 0836 S2CID 9982814 Swynnerton C F M Buxton P A 1938 Tsetse Flies of East Africa Journal of the Royal African Society Royal African Society OUP 37 146 92 94 ISSN 0368 4016 JSTOR 717483 Sutton Books Electronic Bibliography for African Languages and Linguistics Archived from the original on 16 May 2008 Retrieved 2 November 2008 International Plant Names Index Swynn Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charles Francis Massy Swynnerton amp oldid 1161431175, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
