Nicolas Pike (January 26, 1818 – April 11, 1905) was an American consul and a naturalist.[1][2]
He was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts and studied at Latin High School. He was named after his uncle; Nicholas Pike, a mathematician.[3] He moved to New York in 1839 and worked as a paper hanger.[4]
He served as consul in Oporto, Portugal.[4] He trained soldiers in Long Island during the American Civil War and attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.[4] He then served as U.S. Consul in Port Louis, Mauritius. He corresponded with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.[5] Edward Newton was the British official on the island and a bird enthusiast.[6]
He painted fish and collected specimens that are now part of collections at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University, the Mauritius Herbarium, and the American Museum of Natural History.[7][4]
He served as president of the Brooklyn Natural History Society and as the U.S. Consul to Mauritius from 1867 to 1873.[8] He documented fish species in the Western Indian Ocean habitat around Mauritius and neighboring islands.[9]
He imported English sparrows and introduced them in New York.[10][11]
Pomacentrus pikei, a damselfish, is named for him.[4]
Personal life
editHe was married to Maria Louisa Pike.
Bibliography
edit- Sub-Tropical Rambles in the Land of the Aphanapteryx (1873)[12]
References
edit- ^ "Nicolas Pike". Scientific American. 39 (1011supp): 16151–16152. 1895. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican05181895-16151supp.
- ^ "The Royal Society of Arts and Sciences of Mauritius". rsasmauritius.org.
- ^ "Scientific American: Supplement". Munn and Company. August 15, 1895 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d e "Nicolas Pike: Consul, naturalist and admirer of Mauritius". www.lexpress.mu.
- ^ "Letter from Nicholas Pike, U. S. Consul, to Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; from U. S. Consulate, Port Louis, Mauritius; 9 Oct 1873; four page letter comprising two images; folio 534 on JSTOR". plants.jstor.org.
- ^ https://islandbiodiversity.com/Phelsuma28e.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Gudger, E. W. (Eugene Willis); Pike, Nicholas (August 15, 1929). "Nicolas Pike and his unpublished paintings of the fishes of Mauritius, western Indian Ocean : with an index to the fishes. Bulletin of the AMNH ; v. 58, article 9". hdl:2246/864.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Schrynemakers, Paula (August 27, 2020). "There's Something Fishy Going On Here!". American Museum of Natural History Gottesman Research Library News. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
- ^ Gudger, E. W.; Pike, Nicholas. "Nicolas Pike and his unpublished paintings of the fishes of Mauritius, western Indian Ocean : with an index to the fishes. Bulletin of the AMNH ; v. 58, article 9". Biodiversity Heritage Library. American Museum of Natural History Library. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
- ^ "Nicholas Pike". UNREMEMBERED. 17 July 2017.
- ^ "House Sparrow History". sialis.org.
- ^ Mauritius.), Nicolas Pike (U S. Consul, Port Louis (August 15, 1873). Sub-tropical Rambles in the Land of Aphanapteryx: Personal Experiences, Adventures, and Wanderings in and Around the Island of Mauritius. Harper & Brothers. ISBN 9780836991031 – via Google Books.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)