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{{Short description|British Army officer, explorer and ornithologist (1873–1910)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2012}}
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{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
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| birth_name =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1873|01|16}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1873|01|16}}
| birth_place = [[Cranbrook, Kent|Cranbrook]], [[Kent]], [[England]]
| birth_place = [[Cranbrook, Kent|Cranbrook]], [[Kent]], England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1910|04|02|1873|01|16}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1910|04|02|1873|01|16}}
| death_place =
| death_place =
| body_discovered =
| body_discovered =
| death_cause =
| death_cause =
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| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
| monuments =
| monuments =
| residence =
| =
| nationality = [[England|English]]
| ethnicity =
| citizenship =
| citizenship =
| other_names =
| other_names =
| known_for = Exploration and [[ornithology]]
| known_for = Exploration and [[ornithology]]
| education = Radley College and RMA Sandhurst
| education = Radley College and RMA Sandhurst
| alma_mater =
| alma_mater =
| employer =
| employer =
| organization =
| organization =
| influences =
| influenced =
| agent =
| agent =
| occupation = Soldier
| occupation = Soldier
| years_active =
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| home_town =
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Lieutenant '''Boyd Alexander''' (16 January 1873 – 2 April 1910) was an [[England|English]] [[British Army]] officer, [[List of explorers|explorer]] and [[ornithologist]].
Lieutenant '''Boyd Alexander''' (16 January 1873 – 2 April 1910) was an English [[British Army]], [[List of explorers|explorer]] and [[ornithologist]].


== Early life ==
Boyd was the oldest son (with a twin brother) of Lt Colonel Boyd Francis Alexander. On his mother's side he was the grandson of [[David Wilson (Calcutta)|David Wilson]] the founder of one of the most famous hotels in India, the [[Places of interest in Kolkata#Historic hotels|Great Eastern Hotel]] in Calcutta. He was born at [[Swifts Park]] at [[Cranbrook, Kent|Cranbrook]] in [[Kent]] and educated at Radley and Sandhurst.
Boyd was the oldest son (with a twin brother) of Lt Colonel Boyd Francis Alexander. On his mother's side he was the grandson of [[David Wilson (Calcutta)|David Wilson]] the founder of the [[Places of interest in Kolkata#Historic hotels|Great Eastern Hotel]] in Calcutta. He was born at [[Swifts Park]] at [[Cranbrook, Kent|Cranbrook]] in [[Kent]] and educated at Radley and Sandhurst.


Alexander was commissioned in a [[Militia (United Kingdom)|Militia]] battalion of the [[Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own)]], and in October 1900 took up a commission in a regular battalion of that regiment. Promotion to [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] followed on 22 January 1902.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27442 |page=3900 |date=13 June 1902}}</ref>
Alexander was commissioned in a [[Militia (United Kingdom)|Militia]] battalion of the [[Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own)]], and in October 1900 took up a commission in a regular battalion of that regiment. Promotion to [[Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)|lieutenant]] followed on 22 January 1902.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27442 |page=3900 |date=13 June 1902}}</ref>
[[File:BoydAlexanderIbis1910.jpg|thumb|left]]
⚫
During 1902 he visited the [[Gold Coast Colony]], where he made an ornithological survey of that colony, and in September that year he left for the [[Bonin Islands]] to investigate their avifauna.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |articlename=Court Circular |day_of_week=Thursday |date=25 September 1902 |page_number=7 |issue=36882| }}</ref>


⚫
During 1902 he visited the [[Gold Coast Colony]], where he made an ornithological survey of that colony, and in September that year he left for the [[Bonin Islands]] to investigate their avifauna.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |=Court Circular |date=25 September 1902 |=7 |issue=36882}}</ref>
⚫
Lieutenant Alexander was a member of an expedition which travelled across [[Africa]] from the [[Niger River|Niger]] to the [[Nile]], exploring the [[Lake Chad]] area. Alexander was accompanied by his brother Claud, Captain G. B. Gosling and Portuguese collector José Lopes. In February 1904 they set off from the mouth of the Niger, travelling upriver to [[Lokoja]]. Claud died in October of [[enteric fever]] after making a survey of the Murchison Range. Boyd and Gosling explored the area around Lake Chad. Gosling died in June 1906 at [[Niangara]] of [[blackwater fever]]. Boyd then followed the River Kibali, reaching the Nile late in the year and returning to England in February 1907. Alexander's account ''From The Niger To The Nile'' was published later that year. In 1908 he was awarded the [[Gold Medal (RGS)|Founder's Gold Medal]] of the [[Royal Geographical Society]] "for his three years' journey across Africa from the Niger to the Nile."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Forbes |first=Edgar Allen |authorlink= |date=April 1908 |title=Across Central Africa By Boat: The Alexander-Gosling Expedition Through The Heart Of The Sudan |journal=[[World's Work|The World's Work: A History of Our Time]] |volume=XV |issue= |pages=10080–10090 |id= |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hKPvxXgBN1oC&pg=PA10080|accessdate=10 July 2009 |quote= }}</ref>


== African expedition ==
⚫
He described [[Willcocks's honeyguide]] on the basis of a specimen obtained on his 1901 expedition along the Volta river. His enthusiasm for Lake Chad was such that he and his twin brother Robert had an exact replica of Lake Chad made alongside their family home ''The Swifts'' at Cranbrook.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ogilvie-Grant|first=W R|title=Boyd Alexander and his ornithological work|journal=Ibis|volume=52|issue=4|year=1910|pages=716–729|url=https://archive.org/stream/ibis49brit#page/716/mode/2up | doi = 10.1111/j.1474-919X.1910.tb07928.x}}</ref>
⚫
Lieutenant Alexander was a member of an expedition which travelled across [[Africa]] from the [[Niger River|Niger]] to the [[Nile]], exploring the [[ ]]. Alexander was accompanied by his brother Claud, Captain G. B. Gosling and Portuguese collector José Lopes. In February 1904 they set off from the mouth of the Niger, travelling upriver to [[Lokoja]]. Claud died in October of [[enteric fever]] after making a survey of the Murchison Range. Boyd and Gosling explored the area around Lake Chad. Gosling died in June 1906 at [[Niangara]] of [[blackwater fever]]. Boyd then followed the Kibali, reaching the Nile late in the year and returning to England in February 1907. Alexander's account ''From Niger Nile'' was published later that year. In 1908 he was awarded the [[Founder's Medal]] of the [[Royal Geographical Society]] "for his three years' journey across Africa from the Niger to the Nile."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Forbes |first=Edgar Allen |date=April 1908 |title=Across Central Africa By Boat: The Alexander-Gosling Expedition Through The Heart Sudan |journal=[[World's Work|The World's Work: A History of Our Time]] |volume=XV |pages=10080–10090 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hKPvxXgBN1oC&pg=PA10080}}</ref>


⚫
He described [[Willcocks's honeyguide]] on the basis of a specimen obtained on his 1901 expedition along the Volta river. His enthusiasm for Lake Chad was such that he and his twin brother Robert had replica of Lake Chad made alongside their family home The Swifts at Cranbrook.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ogilvie-Grant|first=W R|title=Boyd Alexander and his ornithological work|journal=Ibis|volume=52|issue=4|year=1910|pages=716–729|url=https://archive.org/stream/ibis49brit#page/716/mode/2up | doi = 10.1111/j.1474-919X.1910.tb07928.x}}</ref>
Alexander and Lopes sailed back to Africa in 1909. They visited Claud's grave at Maifoni in [[Kanem–Bornu Empire|Bornu]] and then continued to Ouadai. Boyd was killed in a dispute with locals near Nyeri. His body was recovered by French soldiers and buried next to his brother in Maifoni.

Alexander and Lopes sailed back to Africa in 1909. They visited Claud's grave at Maifoni in [[Borno Emirate|Bornu]] and then continued to [[Wadai Empire|Wadai]]. Boyd was killed in a dispute with locals near Nyeri, {{Convert | 70 | mi}} north of [[Abéché]], the capital of Wadai. His body was recovered by French soldiers and buried next to his brother in Maifoni.<ref name="BA">{{cite ODNB|last=Howarth|first=O. J. R.|date=2004|title=Alexander, Boyd (1873–1910)|id=30369|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/30369}}</ref> Shortly before he departed on the expedition he had become engaged to [[Olive Temple|Olive MacLeod]]; she travelled to visit his remote grave.<ref name=":1">{{cite ODNB|last=Alderman|first=C. J. F.|date=2004|title=Temple [née MacLeod], Olive Susan Miranda (1880–1936), traveller and author|id=63622}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
At [[St Dunstan's Church, Cranbrook]], there is an alabaster memorial to Boyd and Claud Alexander by [[William Robert Colton]].<ref>[http://www.ukniwm.org.uk/server/show/conMemorial.16224/fromUkniwmSearch/1 ''UK National Inventory of War Memorials: Boyd and Claud Alexander.''] Ukniwm.org.uk Retrieved 4 July 2012.</ref>

Alexander's medals are in the [[Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Geographical Society (RGS) Founder's Gold Medal |url=https://rgjmuseum.co.uk/object-archive-item/rgs-gold-medal/ |website=The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum Winchester |access-date=30 November 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[:Category:Taxa named by Boyd Alexander]]


==References==
==References==
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==External links ==
==External links ==
{{wikisource|Alexander, Boyd (DNB12)}}
* [https://archive.org/details/boydalexandersla00alex Boyd Alexander's last journey (1910)]
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*{{Internet Archive author|sname=Boyd Alexander|sopt=t}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Boyd}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Boyd}}
[[Category:1873 births]]
[[Category:1873 births]]
[[Category:1910 deaths]]
[[Category:1910 ]]
[[Category:Rifle Brigade officers]]
[[Category:Rifle Brigade officers]]
[[Category:English explorers]]
[[Category:English explorers]]
[[Category:Explorers of Africa]]
[[Category: of Africa]]
[[Category:English ornithologists]]
[[Category:English ornithologists]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Zoological Society of London]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Zoological Society of London]]
[[Category:Alexander family|Boyd]]
[[Category:Alexander family|Boyd]]
[[Category:English twins]]
[[Category:1910 deaths]]

Latest revision as of 17:25, 16 October 2023

Boyd Alexander
Alexander in 1902
Born(1873-01-16)16 January 1873
Cranbrook, Kent, England
Died2 April 1910(1910-04-02) (aged 37)
Nyeri, Wadai
NationalityBritish
EducationRadley College and RMA Sandhurst
OccupationSoldier
Known forExploration and ornithology

Lieutenant Boyd Alexander (16 January 1873 – 2 April 1910) was an English officer in the British Army, as well as an explorer and ornithologist.

Early life

[edit]

Boyd was the oldest son (with a twin brother) of Lt Colonel Boyd Francis Alexander. On his mother's side he was the grandson of David Wilson,[citation needed] the founder of the Great Eastern Hotel in Calcutta. He was born at Swifts Park at Cranbrook in Kent and educated at Radley and Sandhurst.

Alexander was commissioned in a Militia battalion of the Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own), and in October 1900 took up a commission in a regular battalion of that regiment. Promotion to lieutenant followed on 22 January 1902.[1]

During 1902 he visited the Gold Coast Colony, where he made an ornithological survey of that colony, and in September that year he left for the Bonin Islands to investigate their avifauna.[2]

African expedition

[edit]

Lieutenant Alexander was a member of an expedition which travelled across Africa from the Niger to the Nile, exploring the Chad Basin. Alexander was accompanied by his brother Claud, Captain G. B. Gosling and Portuguese collector José Lopes. In February 1904 they set off from the mouth of the Niger, travelling upriver to Lokoja. Claud died in October of enteric fever after making a survey of the Murchison Range. Boyd and Gosling explored the area around Lake Chad. Gosling died in June 1906 at Niangara of blackwater fever. Boyd then followed the Kibali River, reaching the Nile late in the year and returning to England in February 1907. Alexander's account From the Niger to the Nile was published later that year. In 1908 he was awarded the Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society "for his three years' journey across Africa from the Niger to the Nile."[3]

He described Willcocks's honeyguide on the basis of a specimen obtained on his 1901 expedition along the Volta river. His enthusiasm for Lake Chad was such that he and his twin brother Robert had a miniature replica of Lake Chad made alongside their family home, The Swifts, at Cranbrook.[4]

Alexander and Lopes sailed back to Africa in 1909. They visited Claud's grave at Maifoni in Bornu and then continued to Wadai. Boyd was killed in a dispute with locals near Nyeri, 70 miles (110 km) north of Abéché, the capital of Wadai. His body was recovered by French soldiers and buried next to his brother in Maifoni.[5] Shortly before he departed on the expedition he had become engaged to Olive MacLeod; she travelled to visit his remote grave.[6]

Legacy

[edit]

At St Dunstan's Church, Cranbrook, there is an alabaster memorial to Boyd and Claud Alexander by William Robert Colton.[7]

Alexander's medals are in the Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum.[8]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "No. 27442". The London Gazette. 13 June 1902. p. 3900.
  2. ^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36882. London. 25 September 1902. p. 7.
  3. ^ Forbes, Edgar Allen (April 1908). "Across Central Africa By Boat: The Alexander-Gosling Expedition Through The Heart of the Sudan". The World's Work: A History of Our Time. XV: 10080–10090.
  4. ^ Ogilvie-Grant, W R (1910). "Boyd Alexander and his ornithological work". Ibis. 52 (4): 716–729. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1910.tb07928.x.
  5. ^ Howarth, O. J. R. (2004). "Alexander, Boyd (1873–1910)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/30369. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  6. ^ Alderman, C. J. F. (2004). "Temple [née MacLeod], Olive Susan Miranda (1880–1936), traveller and author". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/63622. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  7. ^ UK National Inventory of War Memorials: Boyd and Claud Alexander. Ukniwm.org.uk Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  8. ^ "Royal Geographical Society (RGS) Founder's Gold Medal". The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum Winchester. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
[edit]
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