A physician and ornithologist with a passion for language, nomenclature and orthography, Henry Thornton Wharton was a stickler for detail and the classification of birds.
Wharton was born in Mitcham, Surrey, in 1846. His father was a vicar, and his mother was a member of the historically prestigious House of Courtenay. Wharton was the fourth of seven children; his elder brother, Edward Ross, was a notable classical scholar and genealogist, and a Fellow of Jesus College, University of Oxford.
Wharton was educated as a day boy at Charterhouse school in Surrey from 1862. He then briefly attended the classics department at King’s College, . At this time, his interests beyond his formal education also become apparent since, aged 18, Wharton wrote his first ornithological note in The Zoologist in 1864. This short piece described a singing Redwing he had observed whilst on a walk with his brother during December 1863. In the same edition of the journal his younger brother, Charles, also wrote several ornithological notes; evidently, therefore, the two brothers had a shared interest.
In 1867, Wharton continued his education at the University of Oxford, graduating with a B.A. in 1871 and an M.A. in Natural Science in 1874. He then joined the medical school at University College, London and qualified as a surgeon in . With academia behind him and a fledgling career as a general practitioner underway, Wharton’s attentions were drawn to other priorities in life. In 1876, aged 29, he married Caroline Perigal and their only child, Leonard, followed in 1877. During this time Wharton’s ornithological activities started to gain prominence and he began work on A List of British Birds. This was his attempt to update the list of birds which beyond doubt occurred in a wild state within the British Isles, along with their correct scientific designations. The list was formatted in a manner whereby the names could be cut out and used as labels for skin or egg collections.
At a British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) dinner on 16 May 1877, Wharton’s brother Charles met Alfred Newton, the pioneering British zoologist and first Professor of Zoology at Cambridge University and brought A List of British Birds to his attention. Newton provided Charles with constructive comments on the project and his interest perhaps encouraged Henry to promptly send him a proof copy of the list with a number of queries and a request for his advice. They subsequently exchanged multiple letters, the contents of which underline Wharton’s meticulous attention to detail and his extensive knowledge of Greek and Latin. The completed List of British Birds was released later in the same year.
In 1878 Wharton was elected as a member of the BOU, and in the following years he continued to write intermittent articles mainly relating to nomenclature for Ibis and The Zoologist, including in the latter journal the intriguingly entitled ‘On a Parrot Performing a Surgical Operation on Living Sheep’ (The Zoologist. [1880] ser. 3, v.4. pp 57-59, in which he describes reported cases of sheep predation by Kea in New Zealand). Then, in 1883, during an age of rapid ornithological change and discovery, he was appointed Secretary and General Editor of the committee for the preparation of the BOU list of British birds; roles in which his classical knowledge facilitated clarification of the Latin nomenclature. Wharton was present at the inaugural meeting of the BOC on 5 October 1892 and was an infrequent presence at meetings up until his death.
Outside of ornithological circles Wharton made a name for himself with his monograph Sappho: Memoir, Text, Selected Renderings, and a Literal Translation (1885). His translation of Sappho’s celebrated works from ancient Greek further demonstrates his prowess in classical languages.
Wharton’s last published work was ‘The Flora of Hampstead’ in the edited collection Hampstead Hill, its Structure, Materials and Sculpturing (1889). Wharton’s understanding of scientific naming and classification were again utilised in producing a list of the plants known to occur in the Hampstead district, demonstrating his proficiency in botany as well as ornithology.
Wharton died at home in West Hampstead on 22 August 1895 after a lingering illness following influenza. The third edition of Sappho includes a detailed Memoriam by his long-standing friend J.S. Cotton, who provides an insight into Wharton’s character:
His was one of the bounteous natures that radiate happiness wherever they go. Men, women, and children alike brightened in his genial presence. He led a blameless and a beneficent life. He never made an enemy and he never lost a friend.
An epitaph to be proud of.
