Charles John Cornish(28 September 1858 – 30 January 1906) was an English naturalist and writer.
Life
editBorn on 28 September 1858 at Salcombe House, nearSidmouth,the residence of his grandfather, Charles John Cornish, J.P., D.L., was eldest son of Charles John Cornish, then curate ofSidbury,Devon,by his first wife, Anne Charlotte Western (died 1887). He was brought up atDebenham,Suffolk,where his father became vicar in 1859. In 1872 he enteredCharterhouse Schoolas a gown-boy, and left in 1876. After time as a private tutor, he enteredHertford College, Oxford,as a commoner in 1881, was elected Brunsell exhibitioner in 1882 and Lusby scholar in 1883. In the same year he obtained abluein association football, a second class in classical moderations in 1883, and a second class inliterae humanioresin 1885.[1]
In 1885, Cornish was appointed assistant classical master atSt Paul's School, London,a position he held for the rest of his life. Soon after coming to London he began to write articles on natural history and country life, and in 1890 became a regular contributor toThe Spectator,and later toCountry Life.[1]
Cornish lived at Orford House,Chiswick Mall,beside the river Thames, when he wroteThe Naturalist on the Thamesin 1902.[2]
Cornish died atWorthingon 30 January 1906, the cause originating in a shooting accident many years before. After cremation his ashes were interred atSalcombe Regis,near Sidmouth, and a mural tablet to his memory was placed in the parish church.[1]
Works
editMany of Cornish's articles re-appeared in book form. He wrote:[1]
- The New Forest,1894.
- The Isle of Wight,1895.
- Life at the Zoo,A work which made him widely known,1895[3]
- Wild England of To-day, and the Wild Life in it,1895.[4]
- Animals at Work and Play,1896.[3]2nd edition, 1897
- Nights with an Old Gunner,1897.
- Animals of To-day, their Life and Conservation.London: Seeley and Co. 1898.OCLC919880 (all editions).[5]
- The Naturalist on the Thames,1902.
- Sir William Henry Flower, a Personal Memoir,1904.
He collaborated with others inLiving Animals of the World(2 vols. 1901-2).Animal Artisans and other Studies of Birds and Beasts,with a memoir by his widow, was published in 1907.[1]
Family
editCornish married in 1893 Edith, eldest daughter ofJohn Isaac Thornycroft,by whom he had one daughter.[1]
Notes
edit- ^abcdefLee, Sidney,ed. (1912)..Dictionary of National Biography(2nd supplement).Vol. 1. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^Orford House lies onChiswick Mall("Orford House".Buildington.Retrieved4 March2020.). Cornish lived there in 1900 (.The Zoologist,4th series, vol 4, issue 711 (September, 1900). 1900. pp. 438/9 – viaWikisource.) and in 1902 ("Orford House".Panorama of the Thames.Retrieved4 March2020.).
- ^ab"Review ofAnimals at Work and Playby C. J. Cornish;Life at the Zooby C. J. Cornish;Heligoland as an Ornithological Observatoryby Heinrich Gätke ".The Quarterly Review.187:471–489. April 1898.
- ^"Review:Wild England of To-day, and the Wild Life in itby C. J. Cornish ".Book Reviews, Vols. 2–3:170–171. 1894.
- ^Cornish 1898:online copyin BHL andonline copyin Internet Archive. There is also an edition of 1899, published in London and New York (see e.g.OCLC862870637;online copy,andanother online copyin HathiTrust Digital Library). See the review in:The Zoologist,
4th series, vol. 3 (1899),issue 691 (January), p.36/7.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Lee, Sidney,ed. (1912). "Cornish, Charles John".Dictionary of National Biography(2nd supplement).Vol. 1. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
External links
edit- Works by Charles John CornishatProject Gutenberg
- Works by Charles John CornishatFaded Page(Canada)
- Works by or about Charles John Cornishat theInternet Archive
- Works by Charles John CornishatLibriVox(public domain audiobooks)
