Richard Bowdler Sharpe

Richard Bowdler Sharpe (22 November 1847 – 25 December 1909) was an English zoologist and ornithologist who worked as curator of the bird collection at the British Museum of natural history.

After two years, in 1865, he joined the company of the bookseller Bernard Quaritch and had an opportunity to examine ornithological books and began to work in earnest on his monograph, purchasing specimens of kingfishers from a meagre income.

At nineteen, in 1867, he became a librarian at the Zoological Society of London on the recommendation of Osbert Salvin and Philip Sclater and he completed his Monograph of the Kingfishers (1868–71) during this period.

On the death of George Robert Gray in 1872 he joined the British Museum as a Senior Assistant in the Department of Zoology, taking charge of the bird collection.

He also played a major role in acquiring private collections by persuading wealthy collectors and travellers to contribute to the museum.

These included the bequests of Allan Octavian Hume, Osbert Salvin and Frederick DuCane Godman, the industrialist and amateur ornithologist Henry Seebohm, Colonel John Biddulph, C. B. Rickett, F. W. Styan, Alfred Russel Wallace, George Ernest Shelley, Philip Sclater and the bird illustrator John Gould.

[5] The eldest daughter, Emily Mary Bowdler Sharpe, was a biologist and author in her own right, and also worked at the British Museum.

When Eugene Oates was working on the Fauna of British India, he found the notes lying on a table and filled up a stray statement on the call of a white wagtail (ssp.

On one occasion, Sharpe ascended the Eiffel tower with friends but became hysterical on reaching the top, with Ernst Hartert and several others having to restrain him and prevent him from jumping off.

[1][10][11] A regular at the Savage and Whitefriars Club, he and his wife threw a party in February 1888 with 120 guests and entertainment that included humorous sketches, songs, recitals and music.