Thomas Allis Explained

Thomas Allis
Birth Date:	9 January 1788
Birth Place:	Tewkesbury
Death Place:	York
Occupation:	Museum curator Osteologist Superintendent

Thomas Allis (9 January 1788 – 24 September 1875) was a British osteologist and museum curator.^{[1] [2]}

Career

Allis was educated at Burford and married Mary Naish of Flax Burton in 1812, before going to York in 1823. He was appointed Superintendent of 'The Retreat', a private asylum in York; a position he kept until 1842 where he left to work in a similar position in Osbaldwick. Alongside his profession he studied ornithology and osteology.

Allis held two Honorary Curatorships at the Yorkshire Museum from 1835 to 1875, was elected as a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1857 and was one of the first members of the British Association. He was Honorary Curator of Ornithology from 1835 to 1839 before succeeding James Atkinson, following his death in 1839, in the post of Honorary Curator of Comparative Anatomy - a position Allis held from 1839 until his death in 1875.^[3] Allis also served as vice-president of the YPS.^[4]

A collection of comparative anatomy was purchased from Allis by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society in 1838 for £350.^[5]

Personal life

Allis had a son, Thomas Henry Allis, who was described as "assiduous collector of Lepidoptera",^[6] The son died in August 1870, five years before Thomas Allis senior. Both are buried at the Friend's Burial Ground, York.^{[7] [8]}

Select publications

• Allis, T. 1832. 'On Certain peculiarities of the bony fabric of the Ostrich, Emu, and Swift, Annual Report of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society
• Allis, T. 1837. 'On the Sclerotic Bones forming the Orbit of the Eye in different Bird and Reptiles', Report of the British Association
• Allis, T. 1865. 'Further Note on a Skeleton of Dinornis robustus, Owen, in the York Museum', Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London 8 (11-12), 140–141.
• Allis, T. 1873. 'On the Skeleton of the Apteryx', Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 11 (56), 523.

External links

• Papers relating to Thomas Allis at the Wellcome library

Notes and References

1. Web site: Allis, Thomas, 1810-1889, Superintendent of The Retreat, York . University of York . 17 June 2019.
2. Melmore, S. . 1930 . Thomas Allis, Osteologist 1788-1875 . Annual Report of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society for 1929 . 3–9.
3. Book: Philosophers and Provincials: The Yorkshire Philosophical Society from 1822 to 1844 . Orange, A. D. . Yorkshire Philosophical Society. 54.
4. Report of the Council for 1850-1859 . Annual Report of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society . 1850–1859.
5. Report of the Council for 1838 . Annual Report of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society . 1839 . 3.
6. Death of Mr. T. H. Allis . The Entomologist . 5 . 1870–1871 . 174.
7. Web site: Thomas Allis . findagrave.com . 17 June 2019.
8. Web site: Thomas Henry Allis . findagrave.com . 17 June 2019.