Edward Pierson Ramsay
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Edward Pierson Ramsay (December 3, 1842 - December 16, 1916) was an Australian zoologist specialized in ornithology.
He was born in Dobroyd Estate, Long Cove, Sydney and studied medicine from 1863 to 1865 at the University of Sydney.
Although he never had had any formal scientific training in zoology, he had a keen interest in natural history and published many papers. He became the first Australian-born Curator of the Australian Museum. From 1876 until 1894, when he had to resign due to his declining health, he published a Catalogue of the Australian Birds in the Australian Museum at Sydney in four parts.
In 1883 Ramsay traveled to London to attend the International Fisheries Exhibition. At that time he met Military Surgeon Francis Day who had collected fishes over several decades in India, Burma, Malaysia and other areas in southern Asia. Ramsay negotiated to purchase a portion of Day's collection, including about 150 of Day's type specimens.
After his resignation as Curator, he served the Australian Museum as "consulting ornithologist" until 1909. He died 1916 in Sydney.
External links
- Australian Museum Ramsay page (http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/about/research/ramsay.htm)