William Theobald

[[File:GeologicalSurveyIndia1870.jpg|thumb|Members of the Geological Survey of India in 1870: F. Stoliczka, R. B. Foote, W. Theobald, F. R. Mallet, V. Ball, W. Waagen, W. L. Wilson (standing); A. Tween, W. King, T. Oldham, H. B. Medlicott, C. A. Hackett (sitting)]] '''William Theobald''' (1829 – 31 March 1908) was a [[malacologist]] and [[naturalist]] on the staff of the [[Geological Survey of India]] serving in [[Myanmar|Burma]], then a part of [[British India]].<ref name=ZSI />

==Biography== Very little is known of Theobald's early life. Theobald was referred to in official documents as "William Theobald, Junior". He arrived in Calcutta on the ship ''Hindostan'' via the [[Suez Canal|Suez]] in March 1847 and worked as a volunteer in the coal exploration of the upper Damodar and Son valleys under David Williams. During this time [[Joseph Dalton Hooker|Joseph Hooker]] visited him and they spent time together.<ref name=mabberley /> Later Theobald became an assistant to [[John McClelland (doctor)|John McClelland]] who took over the exploration from David Williams. He went to Burma in 1855 as a staff of the Geological Survey of India and took over the ''Pegu survey''. He returned Bengal on completion of the survey in 1873 to be appointed Deputy Superintendent of Bengal in 1876.<ref name=mabberley>Mabberley DJ (1985). "William Theobald (1829-1908): Unwitting Reformer of Botanical Nomenclature?". ''Taxon'' '''34''' (1): 152-156.</ref> From 1868 to 1876 he described a dozen new species of reptiles.<ref>"Theobald". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.</ref>

Theobald was the first to publish a full catalogue of reptile specimens collected in British India, ''Descriptive Catalogue of the Reptiles of British India'' (1876),<ref name="EDR"/> although [[John Anderson (zoologist)|Anderson]] claimed that several new descriptions by [[Edward Blyth]] were overlooked by this work.<ref name=ZSI>Chandal SK, [[:fr:Indraneil Das|Das I]], Dubois A (2000). "Catalogue of Amphibian Types in the Collection of the Zoological Survey of India". ''Hamadryad'' '''25''' (2): 100–128. [http://ohler.club.fr/alaindubois/media/blogs/a.dubois/PDF/2000_Chanda_Das_Dubois_Calcutta.pdf PDF] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720212202/http://ohler.club.fr/alaindubois/media/blogs/a.dubois/PDF/2000_Chanda_Das_Dubois_Calcutta.pdf |date=2011-07-20 }}</ref> Theobald's work on Indian freshwater snails with illustrations was one of the first of its kind.<ref>Hanley SCT, Theobald W (1876). "''Conchologia Indica'': illustrations of the land and fresh-water shells of British India". L. Reeve & Co. p. 65</ref> He even made his shell collections available to [[Francis Mason (missionary)|Francis Mason]] for his epic work on the flora and fauna of British [[Myanmar|Burma]] titled ''Burmah, its People and Natural Productions''. The third edition of this work was completely rewritten by Theobald and was published in two volumes under the title ''Burma, its people and productions; or notes on the fauna, flora and minerals of Tenasserim, Pegu and Burma'' (Hertford, England, 1882 & 1883).<ref name=mabberley /> The first volume of this work covered geology, mineralogy and zoology and was exclusively written by him while the second volume relied on several important botanical works of his time. The [[phanerogam]]ic information came from printed works of [[Sulpiz Kurz]] on the Burmese flora and from the entries in [[Edward Balfour#Cyclopaedia of India and other works|Edward Balfour]]'s works. He also relied on [[Emmanuel Le Maout|Le Maout]]'s and [[Joseph Decaisne|Decaisne]]'s general system of botany translated by Mrs. Hooker and on [[James Sykes Gamble|Gamble]]'s ''Manual of Indian Timbers''.<ref name=mabberley /> However, his efforts at reforming botanical nomenclature conflicted with the British Botanical establishment at that time a majority in British India and his botanical works were largely disregarded.<ref name=mabberley />

He retired from the service in June 1881 and died at [[Ilfracombe]], [[Devon]], England on 31 March 1908. A photograph of him as member of a group of the Geological Survey of India was published in the Centenary publication of the Geological Survey of India.<ref name=mabberley />

== Legacy == Theobald is commemorated in the scientific names of two Asian reptiles: ''[[Oligodon theobaldi]]'' and ''[[Phrynocephalus theobaldi]]''.<ref name="EDR">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}}. ("Theobald", p. 264).</ref>

== Bibliography == * 1860. [https://archive.org/details/catalogueofrecen00theo ''Catalogue of the recent shells in the Museum, Asiatic Society of Bengal''] * 1868. [https://archive.org/details/catalogueofrepti00theo ''Catalogue of reptiles in the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal''] * 1876. [https://archive.org/details/descriptivecatal00theo ''Descriptive catalogue of the reptiles of British India''] * 1876. ''[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/120669 Conchologia Indica: Illustrations of the Land and Freshwater Shells of British India]'' Along with [[Sylvanus Charles Thorp Hanley]]. Malacological Society of London. * 1889. [https://archive.org/details/indexofgeneraspe1112indi ''Index of the genera and species of Mollusca in the hand list of the Indian Museum'']. 1-2. Gastropoda, Calcutta. * 1896. [https://archive.org/details/onauthorshipofso00theorich ''On the authorship of the sonnets attributed to Shakespeare. An inquiry into the respective claims of Bacon, Sir Philip Sidney, and others, to be their author''] {{Clear}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == * {{Internet Archive author |sname=William Theobald}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theobald, William}} [[Category:1829 births]] [[Category:1908 deaths]] [[Category:British malacologists]] [[Category:British people in British India]] [[Category:People from British Burma]]