Career

Collecting localities

Collections

Literature

Biographical data

 

Abbott, Dr. William Louis

 

(Source: Flora Malesiana ser. 1, 1: Cyclopaedia of collectors)

(Source: Flora Malesiana ser. 1, 5: Cyclopaedia of collectors)

 

Born: 1860, Philadelphia, U.S.A.. Died: 1936, Northeast, Md, U.S.A.

 

career:

Was educated at the University of Pennsylvania, taking his medical degree in 1884. He continued his medical studies in London. Being financially independent he decided to engage in scientific exploration and field work rather than devote his life to medical science. From 1880 onwards he made collections of birds in America, from 1887-90 zoological collections in East Africa, and subsequently visited the Seychelle Archipelago, Madagascar, and the Himalayas. In 1897 he explored Siam, and in the next 10 years visited Sumatra and Borneo, and cruised the coasts of Siam and the China Sea in his own vessel. He never published any of the results of his explorations.

 

Collecting localities:

1901. N. Sumatra: Atjeh, at Loh Sidoh Bay, a few miles S of Acheen Head. From May 26-Aug. 7 islands E of Singapore, coast and rivers of Johore. From Aug.-Sept. Centr. Sumatra: Indragiri river; Lingga and Singkep.-1902. Pag(a)i Islands (part of the Mentawai Islands, W of Sumatra).-1903 and 1905. Nias, W of Sumatra.

zoological collecting localities.2 Anambas Islands (1899-1900), Natuna Islands (1900); coasts of N. Sumatra: Atjeh and Tapanuli, and the islands Simalur, Banjak, and P. Mansalar (1901-02).-1902. Simalur, Batu Islands, Nias.-1904. Billiton, Ban(g)ka, and Enggano, Karimata Islands.-1907. Bawean.-1908. Karimata Islands. -He also visited some small islets in the Java Sea.

 

collections:

Some plants together with C.B. Kloss (see there) in the Pag(a)i Islands in 1902.1 Living plants from Sumatra in Hort. Sing. [SING] (pres. 1903). Zoological and ethnological collections in the U.S. Nat. Mus. Washington, but no Malaysian botanical collections.

 

literature:

(1) Cf. ‘Spolia Mentawaiensia’ in Kew Bull. 1926, p. 56.

(2) Cf. G.C.A. Junge in Ardea 41, Jubil. no, 1954, p. 320-321.

 

biographical data:

Auk 53, 1936, p. 369-370.