Frank Edward Clarke Explained

Frank Edward Clarke
Birth Date:20 December 1848
Birth Place:Suffolk, England
Death Date:1 July 1899
Death Place:New Plymouth, New Zealand
Occupation:Ichthyologist, Scientific illustrator and draftsman of the Survey Department, New Zealand

Frank Edward Clarke (20 December 1848 – 1 July 1899[1]) was a New Zealand ichthyologist and scientific illustrator. He discovered numerous fish species previously unknown to science and was the third most active describer of those new species in New Zealand from 1870 to 1905.[2] Clarke was also an artist and a collection of his scientific illustrations is held at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Biography

Early life

Clarke was born in Suffolk, England on 20 December 1848, son of Edward Clarke, Esq., M.D., L.M., M.H.S.[3] and Anne Leah Clarke (nee Clarkson). In early 1876 Clarke was appointed Chief draftsman in the Survey Department in Westland.[4]

Scientific and artistic contributions

Clarke was a member of the New Zealand Institute, as the Royal Society of New Zealand was then known, and was a trustee of the Westland Institute.[5] He read his scientific papers before the Westland Institute, the Hokitika Literary Society[6] and the Wellington Philosophical Society.[7] His papers would subsequently be forwarded to the New Zealand Institute for publication.[8]

Amongst Clarke's scientific discoveries, he was the first uncover the presence of Himantolophind angelfishes in New Zealand in 1877.[9] Clarke obtained the specimen of Himantolophus appelii, which he described in his scientific paper, from Mr Appel of Hokitika and named the species in his honour.[10]

Clarke also obtained a fish specimen collected on 6 August 1878 by W. Duncan. Clarke subsequently described and named that species as Argentina decagon and forwarded the specimen to the Colonial Museum, now the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, where it is still kept.[11] [12] However Clarke had been preempted by Frederick Hutton who had described the new species as Argentina elongata in January 1879. Clarke is unlikely to have seen Hutton's description.[13]

Some time in or around 1894 Clarke was transferred from the Survey Department in Westland. Prior to him leaving he was presented with an illuminated address by the Mayor of Hokitika on behalf of the citizens of Hokitika. The address expressed their appreciation of Clarke's work and in particular their recognition of his "study and original observations of the fish of this coast".[14]

Sir James Hector is recorded as saying of Clarke that Clarke's "knowledge of fish was minute and accurate, and it would be difficult to exaggerate the beauty and scientific fidelity of his drawings. A special value attached to these drawings inasmuch as some represented rare and others absolutely unique specimens which had come under Mr. Clarke's observation". Hector hoped the collection of Clarke's drawings would be purchased in its complete form by a museum.[15] The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa did in fact purchase Clarke's drawings and watercolours from his wife in 1921.[16]

Clarke also designed the common seal for the Municipal Corporation of Kumara.[17]

Marriage and children

Clarke married Margaret Mulvihill, only daughter of Michael Mulvihill, Esq., of Stafford, on 17 March 1873 at St. Patrick's Church, Ross, West Coast. He and his wife had the following children:

Death

Clarke died in New Plymouth on Saturday, 1 July 1899, of heart disease, and is buried in the Te Henui Cemetery, New Plymouth.

Published works

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Obituary. Papers Past. . 18 June 2015.
  2. Book: Saunders. Brian. Discovery of Australia's fishes : a history of Australian ichthyology to 1930. 2012. CSIRO Pub.. Collingwood, Vic.. 9780643106727. 270. 2e dr.. 17 June 2015.
  3. Web site: Person: Clarke, F E. www.tepapa.govt.nz. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. 17 June 2015.
  4. News: Untitled. 18 June 2015. Grey River Argus. XXI. 2381, Page 2. Grey River Argus. 28 March 1876.
  5. Westland Institute. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 1887. 20. 469. 18 June 2015.
  6. News: New Zealand Institute Transactions. 18 June 2015. New Zealand Herald. 5180. The New Zealand Herald. 24 June 1878. 6.
  7. Clarke. F. E.. Notes on New Zealand Galaxidæ, mare especially those of the Western Slopes: with Descriptions of New Species, &c.. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 1898. 31. 78. 18 June 2015.
  8. News: Annual Report of the Hokitika Literary Society. 18 June 2015. West Coast Times. 3959. West Coast Times. 9 December 1881. 2.
  9. Stewart. Andrew L.. Pietsch. Theodore W.. A new species of deep-sea anglerfish, genus Himantolophus (Lophiiformes: Himantolophidae) from the Western South Pacific, with comments on the validity of H. pseudalbinares. Zootaxa. 2010. 2671. 53. 18 June 2015.
  10. Clarke. F. E.. On two new Fishes.. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 1877. 10. 244. 18 June 2015.
  11. Web site: Object: Silverside, Argentina elongata (Hutton, 1879); holotype of Argentina decagon Clarke, 1879. Te Papa Online. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. 18 June 2015.
  12. Clarke. F. E.. On a new Fish found at Hokitika.. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 1878. 11. 295. 18 June 2015.
  13. Cohen. Daniel M.. A revision of the Fishes of the Subfamily Argentininae. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum. 1958. 3. 3. 138. 18 June 2015.
  14. News: Presentation to Mr F. E. Clarke. 18 June 2015 . XLIV. 10256. Taranaki Herald. 11 March 1895. 2.
  15. Second Meeting: 6 August 1901. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 6 August 1901. 34. 563. 18 June 2015.
  16. Web site: Object: Internal Affairs files relating to the administration of the Colonial/Dominion Museum. Te Papa Collections Online. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. 18 June 2015.
  17. News: West Coast Times Monday 10 September 1877. 18 June 2015. West Coast Times. West Coast Times. 10 September 1877. 2.
  18. News: Birth. 18 June 2015. Westcoast Times. 2471. 1 March 1877.
  19. News: Birth. 18 June 2015. West Coast Times. 3742. 4 April 1881. 2.
  20. Clarke. F. E.. Triangular teeth amongst Maoris. The Journal of the Polynesian Society. June 1900. 9. 2. 121–124. 18 June 2015.
  21. News: Birth. 18 June 2015. West Coast Times. 4654. West Coast Times. 28 June 1884. 2.
  22. News: Birth. 18 June 2015. West Coast Times. 6185. 8 April 1886. 2.
  23. News: Birth. 18 June 2015. West Coast Times. 7078. 3 May 1888.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Frank Edward Clarke".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.