History
On September 15, 1883 seven gentlemen interested in Natural history met at Bombay in the then Victoria and Albert Museum (now Bhau Daji Lad Museum) and
| “ | constituted themselves as the Bombay Natural History Society. They proposed to meet monthly and exchange notes, exhibit interesting specimens and otherwise encourage each other. | ” |
According to E. H. Aitken (the first Honorary Secretary, September 1883-March 1886), Dr G. A. Maconochie was the fons et origo of the Society. The other founders were Dr D. MacDonald, Col. C. Swinhoe, Mr J. C. Anderson, Mr J. Johnston, Dr Atmaram Pandurang and Dr Sakharam Arjun. Mr H. M. Phipson (second Honorary Secretary, 1886–1906) was also a part of the founding group and he lent a part of his wine shop at 18 Forbes Street to the BNHS as an office.
In 1911, R. C. Wroughton a BNHS member and forest officer organized a survey of mammals making use of the members spread through the Indian subcontinent to provide specimens. This was perhaps the first collaborative natural history study in the world and resulted in a collection of 50,000 specimens in 12 years. Several new species were discovered, 47 publications were published, and the understanding of biogeographic boundaries was improved.
In the early years, the Journal of the BNHS reviewed contemporary literature from other parts of the world. The description of ant-bird interactions in German by Erwin Stresemann was reviewed in a 1935 issue leading to the introduction of the term anting into English.
Today the BNHS is headquartered in the specially constructed Hornbill House is Southern Mumbai. It sponsors studies in Indian wildlife and conservation, and publishes a four-monthly journal, Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (JBNHS), as well as a quarterly magazine, Hornbill.
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