Watson (Robert Boog)
Original title: Watson (Roberto Boog)
Robert Boog Watson, English conchologist and Protestant chaplain in Funchal who studied Madeira's marine molluscs between 1864 and 1874.
English doctor of laws and conchologist who, between 1864 and 1874, studied the marine shells of Madeira while serving as chaplain of one of the Protestant churches in Funchal. He is now deceased (1921). He wrote a work entitled On the Marine Molusca of Madeira (Journ. Linn. Soc, XXVI, 1897), having dealt with the same subject in 1873 in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. In his work published in 1897, Watson mentions 382 species of marine molluscs, describing 35 that he considered new.
Like his compatriot Thomas Vernon Wollaston, Watson at times sought in his works to belittle other naturalists, which is unbecoming in a man of science and even more so in a clergyman, albeit a Protestant one.
Watson’s shells now belong to the English malacologist Tomlin, according to a letter sent to this city (1921).
In this article
Time
Years mentioned · 02Place
Places mentioned · 01
- Funchal
Where Watson served as Protestant chaplain.
The capital of the archipelago and seat of the principal captaincy, where settlement began; it was made a vila c.1451–52. Its bay, the widest in the archipelago, lies between Ponta do Garajau and Ponta da Cruz and offers sheltered anchorage, though its harbour had never been studied oceanographically. The Elucidário discusses it as a health resort with climate data and records the January 1906 disturbances, the Danish prince's visit in May 1846 and recent volcanic cones in the area.
People
People mentioned · 03-
English conchologist and Protestant chaplain in Funchal who recorded 382 marine mollusc species of Madeira.
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English naturalist compared to Watson for disparaging other naturalists.
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English malacologist who owned Watson's shell collection by 1921.