John Bernard Gilpin
John Bernard Gilpin A.M., M.D., M.R.C.S | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Bernard Gilpin 4 September 1810 |
| Died | 12 March 1892 (aged 81) |
| Other names | J.B. Gilpin |
| Education | Trinity College University of Philadelphia |
| Occupations |
|
| Relatives | William Gilpin (grandfather) Sawrey Gilpin (granduncle) |
Dr. John Bernard Gilpin (4 September 1810 – 12 March 1892) was an American-born Canadian physician, surgeon, naturalist, author, and artist.
Early life and education
[edit]John Bernard Gilpin Jr. was born in Newport, Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, on 4 September 1810.[1]
His father, J. Bernard Gilpin, originally from Vicar's Hill in Hampshire, was the British Consul for Rhode Island and Connecticut, residing at Newport before retiring to Nova Scotia in 1833.[2][3][1]
In 1831, John Bernard Gilpin studied at Washington College (now Trinity College), a private college in Hartford.[1] He pursued medical studies with distinguished physician Dr. T.C. Gunn in Newport for a year before enrolling at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his M.D. from the Perelman School of Medicine in 1834.[4] Gilpin completed the rest of his education in England.[1]
Career
[edit]Dr. Gilpin was recorded as a medical practitioner in Annapolis County, where he also studied natural history and local wildlife.[1]
After passing the examination for the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1845, he returned to Nova Scotia as one of five physicians also qualified as surgeons.[4] He moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1846, where he maintained a medical practice on Barrington Street for four decades.[1] Serving as assistant health officer for the Port of Pictou in 1847, Gilpin later became a member of the Medical Society of Nova Scotia in 1854.[4]
Nova Scotian Institute of Science
[edit]One of the original founders of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science, Dr. J.B. Gilpin, was elected as a member during its inauguration on 5 January 1863.[5] He had the privilege of delivering the first paper, "The Common Herring of Nova Scotia," at the institute's first ordinary meeting at Dalhousie College on 19 January 1863.[6] He was appointed as vice president of the institute on 12 October 1864.[1] In October 1866, he served as vice president alongside Lieut. Col. Campbell Hardy with John Matthew Jones in the chair. The vice president presented a paper titled "On the Mammalia of Nova Scotia—Part 3" on 5 November 1866 and the fourth and fifth editions between 1867 and 1868. His series, "On the Food Fishes of Nova Scotia," concluded with a fifth part in December 1867, and he later presented "The Walrus" on 10 May 1869.[5] Dr. Gilpin went on to serve as the institute's president from 1873 to 1878. After his tenure, he continued to serve as a council member.[4]
Over two decades, he wrote 34 papers published in the institute's transactions, many including his own illustrations.[4] He illustrated his lectures with colored chalk drawings of animals.[7] He wrote on topics such as birds, fish, walruses, moose, and fossils.[4] Leading scientific societies in the United States held his work on Nova Scotia's birds and fishes in high regard.[8] Regularly called upon by Dr. Spencer Fullerton Baird, curator of the Smithsonian Institute, he helped classify fish species and understand their migrations.[1]
Upon his retirement, he took up residence in Annapolis County in 1882.[1]
Personal life
[edit]J.B. Gilpin was a descendant of Bernard Gilpin, the Oxford theologian called the "Apostle of the North."[9] He was also related to Sawrey Gilpin, the English animal painter.[7] His father's branch of the family came from England to America in 1783, settling in Pennsylvania before moving to Newport in 1803.[10] He had a sister named Elizabeth Miller Gilpin.[10]
As early as 1875, he was among the shareholders of the Bank of Nova Scotia.[11]
His son, Edwin Gilpin, became the Dean of Nova Scotia in 1899.[9]
Death
[edit]John Bernard Gilpin died at 81 years old on 12 March 1892 in Annapolis Royal, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada.[1] On 15 March 1892, Gilpin was interred in his family's burial ground in Annapolis Royal.[10]
Works
[edit]- Sable Island: its past history, present appearance, natural history, &c., &c. (1858)[4]
- On the Mammalia of Nova Scotia (1866)
- On the Food Fishes of Nova Scotia (1867)
- The Walrus (1869)
- Observations on some Fossil Bones found in New Brunswick, Canada (1873-74)[12]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Proceedings of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science. (1895). Canada: Nova Scotian Institute of Science..
- ^ Mason, G. C. (1891). Annals of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. United States: Redwood library.
- ^ Finance: Accounts. (1826). United Kingdom: (n.p.).
- ^ a b c d e f g Dictionary of Canadian Biography / Dictionaire Biographique Du Canada: Volume XII, 1891 - 1900. (1990). United Kingdom: University of Toronto Press.
- ^ a b Proceedings of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science. (1870). Canada: Nova Scotian Institute of Science..
- ^ "The Proceedings and Transactions of the Nova Scotia Institute of Science, Halifax, Nova Scotia - Volume XIII" (PDF). wikimedia.org. Retrieved 2025-03-09.
- ^ a b "Old and New". The Gazette. September 25, 1915. p. 12.
- ^ "Obituary". The Halifax Herald. March 22, 1892. p. 3.
- ^ a b "The Golden Wedding of Dean And Mrs. Gilpin". The Halifax Herald. January 3, 1899. p. 3.
- ^ a b c "Obituary [Annapolis Spectator.]". The Halifax Herald. February 23, 1892. p. 3.
- ^ Shareholders in the Chartered Banks of the Dominion of Canada. (1875). Canada: (n.p.).
- ^ The Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. (1875). United Kingdom: The Society.