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September 2007

The recent discovery, in the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, 53 : i-xcix that a small portrait of ‘The Late Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins’ had been presented by his daughter to the Geological Society, led to the picture here being located. It is reproduced by permission of the Natural History Museum, acting as agent for the Geological Society. Copies can be purchased from nhmpl@nhm.ac.uk

© Natural History Museum London
 
May 2008
 Dinosaurs (and other extinct ‘saurians’) A Historical Perspective

A Conference entitled Dinosaurs (and other extinct ‘saurians’) A Historical Perspective was organised by the History of Geology Group of the Geologists Association at the Geological Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London on May 6/7, 2008.   Field Trips were arranged to include the Isle of Wight/Dorset coast and also Crystal Palace, to see Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins’ Dinosaur reconstructions, the Geological Trail, Crystal Palace Museum and the site of the Crystal Palace.   A volume of Abstracts of the conference contributions was produced and a volume of Proceedings, which include an edited selection of the complete contributions, is expected to be published by the Geological Society.   The Conference organiser was Professor Richard T J Moody of Kingston University, email rtj.moody@virgin.net

Valerie Bramwell (BWH’s great, great, great granddaughter) gave a 25 minute contribution to the Conference entitled “Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (1807-1894). A modern Pygmalion”.    See the text of this lecture lecture text

An article, The Art of Bones, abstracted by Robert Peck from the Biography of Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins All in the Bones by Valerie Bramwell and Robert Peck, appeared in the December 2008/January 2009 joint issue, Vol. 117, No 10, pages 24-29 of Natural History .    Bob Peck also recorded an interview on this subject, available in the web link to the article, with the Editor in Chief  of  Natural History, Vittorio Maestro.   http://www.nhmag.com/master.html?http://nhmag.com/1208/1208_feature.html

November 2008
Exhibit at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia

"Hadrosaurus foulkii:
The Dinosaur That Changed the World"

November 22, 2008 – April 19, 2009

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the scientific description of Hadrosaurus foulkii. This dinosaur occupies a singular place in the history of paleontology. At the time of its description by Joseph Leidy in 1858, Hadrosaurus was the world's most completely known dinosaur. When the skeletal mount, a collaboration of Leidy with British sculptor Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, was put on display at the Academy in 1868, it was the first dinosaur skeleton ever mounted and would serve as a model for future dinosaur mounts in museums everywhere.   The exhibit includes a re-mount of  Hadrosaurus foulkii together with re-creations of Leidy’s workspace at the Academy of Natural Sciences and part of the workshop of Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins.

Web links relating to this exhibit: :http://www.philly.com/inquirer/gallery/Dinosaurs_at_the_Academy.html?next=1&index=11#photo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eklr6JemnvY

Family of Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins 

These entries update the Family Tree and other family information for Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins included in the biography All in the Bones by Valerie Bramwell and Robert M Peck.

1. Hawkins’ daughter, Kathleen, (born in 1836 and married to Henry Blackburn in 1858) died in Sussex in 1913.

2. Hawkins’ grand-daughter, by Kathleen and Henry Blackburn, Kathleen Edith (born 1865) died also in Sussex in 1916.

3. Twin daughters, Agnes and Rachel, were born to the union of Hawkins with Frances Louisa Keenan, between the births of Leila and Margaret (‘Daisy’) while Hawkins was working at Knowsley Hall.   They were both christened on 15 July 1845 but do not appear in the 1851 or later census records.  It is assumed, therefore, that they died in infancy.  (Research source : Mike Friesen, University of Colorado, from Mormon records).

4.  Visits of Hawkins and members of his family to the USA.   Mike Friesen, University of Colorado, has kindly provided the following information from Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897 (National Archives Microfilm Publication M237)

1868     BWH arrived 14 March on the ship Siberia, from Liverpool (Roll 291,List 179, Line 2)

1875     BWH arrived 11 March on the ship Cuba, from Liverpool (Roll 397, List 185, Line 26)

1870     It appears that BWH’s daughter, Georgiana Sophia, arrived 19 April 1870 on the ship Russia, from Liverpool (Roll 326, List 281, Line 22).  The records list her as Miss G Hawkins, age 30, which is in conflict with her known birth date of 1833, but MF notes that there are no other females with the initial G in the records.  [R M Peck (private Communication) indicates that certain letters written to the Peabody Institute in Baltimore by BWH from New York, with the object of arranging lecture dates, were signed on his behalf with the initials GSH, and quotes a particular letter of 21 May 1870 from 77W. 45th Street which was signed as GS Hawkins].

1872    Henry and Kathleen Blackburn arrived 21 November on the ship Cuba, from Liverpool, together with their daughter Kathleen (Roll 369, List 1248, Lines 19-21.  In these records Cathleen appears to have been written with a C in both cases).

Notes     SS (Steam Ship) Siberia was launched in 1866 as a passenger cargo vessel owned by British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet (becoming Cunard in 1878).   She was wrecked in May 1882.

                SS Cuba had been built in 1864 and was wrecked in 1887 off Aldbrough, Yorkshire.

                SS Russia later became Cunard’s first transatlantic screw steamer.  She was sold to Red Star in 1880, renamed Waesland, and lost in a collision off Anglesey in 1902.

December 2008

In the Acknowledgements for All in the Bones I anticipated that the interest of others would lead to the acquisition of new knowledge about Hawkins’ life and works.   I am grateful to Mike Howgate for providing information about the existence of a collection of miniature replicas by Hawkins at the Wisbech and Fenland Museum  Wisbech & Fenland Museum.   A visit to this gem of a museum confirmed that they hold 25 models, made in both cast iron and plaster.   Whilst some of these are duplicates and held in store, an attractive small display accompanies A Key to the Life Size Reconstructions which was published by James Tennant.

The size of this collection suggests that Tennant marketed a larger collection of Hawkins’ maquettes in Britain than was available in America through Professor Henry Ward.   Of  unknown provenance, the collection is generally in good condition and includes Tapir, Irish Elk, Mammoth, Dicynodon, Plesiosaurus, Ichthyosaurus, Labyrinthodon, Hylaeosaurus and Teleosaurus.

The Curator of the museum at Wisbech, David Wright, has kindly agreed to the inclusion here of a ‘snapshot’ of part of their display along with recent images.   The collection will be on loan to Peterborough Museum for approximately three months from July 2009.