Joshua Alder
British cheesemonger and amateur zoologist (1792-1867)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joshua Alder (7 April 1792 – 21 January 1867)[1] was a British cheesemonger and amateur zoologist and malacologist. As such, he specialized in the Tunicata, and in gastropods.
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Joshua Alder | |
|---|---|
Sketch of Alder from "Men of mark 'twixt Tyne and Tweed" by Richard Welford, 1895 | |
| Born | 7 April 1792 Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
| Died | 21 January 1867 (aged 74) |
| Citizenship | British |
| Occupation | Cheesemonger |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | zoologist |
He was a member of the Natural History Society of Northumberland and Durham, and an early member of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne, alongside Joseph Swan and Robert Stephenson.[2] He corresponded with Charles Darwin.[2]
His drawings are in the collections of the Great North Museum: Hancock and the British Museum.[3]
Ravensworth Terrace
From 1841 to 1857 Alder was a tenant at 5 Ravensworth Terrace in the Summerhill area of Newcastle upon Tyne, which he shared with his sister Mary, a woman of independent means, and their two female servants.[2]
During this time, he ran a cheese shop in The Side, a street in central Newcastle.[2] He sold that business and became a shareholder in the Northumberland District Bank, and a gentleman of leisure.[2] A financial crash in 1857 led to the collapse of the bank, and Alder faced ruin.[2] He and Mary were forced to leave Ravensworth Terrace, moving to a smaller house, still extant, in nearby Summerhill Terrace, where he was supported by his sister.[2] In 1863 he wrote to his co-author Albany Hancock of his relief at being awarded a pension of £70 from the civil list by Lord Palmerston at the behest of his scientific colleagues, allowing him to resume his research.[2]
An obituary noted that he was "everywhere accompanied" by his sister, who "assisted him in his studies and was, in short, essential to his life and health".[2]
Alder is profiled in the first episode of the second series of A House Through Time, first shown in April 2019.[2] As a result of research conducted for the programme, a plaque commemorating Alder was unveiled there on 26 September 2018 by presenter David Olusoga and the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, David Down.[3] The house has been Grade II listed since June 1976.[4]
Bibliography
- Alder J. (1838). "Supplement to a catalogue of the land and fresh-water testaceous Mollusca, found in the vicinity of Newcastle". Transactions of the Natural History Society of Northumberland and Durham 1(3): 337–342. Newcastle.
- Alder J. (1841). "Observations on the genus Polycera of Cuvier, with descriptions of two new British species". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 6 (38): 337–342. doi:10.1080/03745484109442937.
- Alder J. & Hancock A. (1845–1855). A Monograph of the British Nudibranchiate Mollusca: with figures of all the species. The Ray Society, London. Published in 8 parts:
- Alder J. & Hancock A. (October 1851). "Descriptions of two new species of nudibranchiate Mollusca, one of them forming the type of a new genus". Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 2nd ser., 8 (46): 290–302, pls. 9–10.
- Alder, Joshua, Embleton, Dennis, Hancock, Albany, Hopkinson, John, Norman, Alfred Merle, 1905–12 The British Tunicata; an unfinished monograph, by the late Joshua Alder and the late Albany Hancock. Edited by John Hopkinson, with a history of the work by the Rev. A. M. Norman. London. Printed for the Ray Society.
A contemporary review described the Monograph of the British Nudibranchiate Mollusca as "one of the most admirable monographs which has ever appeared in this or any other country".[2] Prince Albert is known to have owned a copy.[2]
Taxa described
Alder discovered over 100 marine species, new to science.[2]
Names or synonyms of hydroids described by Alder include:[5]
- Dicoryne conferta (Alder, 1856)
- Eudendrium capillare Alder, 1856
- Hydractinia areolata Alder, 1862
- Corymorpha nana Alder, 1857
- Campanularia hincksii Alder, 1856
- Laomedea flexuosa Alder, 1857
- Laomedea neglecta Alder, 1856
- Halecium nanum Alder, 1859
Gastropod taxa described by Alder include:
- Ancula cristata (Alder, 1841)[2]
- Polyceroidea Alder & Hancock, 1845
- Fiona Alder & Hancock, 1851
- Chromodoris Alder & Hancock, 1855
