Authorised form of name | Mitchell; Sir; Peter Chalmers (1864 - 1945); zoologist |
Dates | 1864 - 1945 |
Nationality | British |
Place of birth | Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland |
Date of birth | 23 November 1864 |
Place of death | University College Hospital, London, England |
Date of death | 02/07/1945 |
DatesAndPlaces | Cremated and his ashes were interred at Whipsnade, Dunstable, England (1945) |
Occupation | zoologist |
Research field | Zoology |
Anatomy |
Activity | Education: Dunfermline high school; Aberdeen grammar school; King's College, University of Aberdeen; DSc; MA (Oxon) Career:Lecturer at Charing Cross Hospital medical school; lecturer London Hospital (1894); worked in the prosectorium of the Zoological Society of London, where there was widespread dissatisfaction of the management of the Zoo under Philip Lutley Sclater (FRS 1861), the society’s secretary since 1859; elected as the secretary of the Zoological Society of London, upon Sclater’s retirement (1903) and immediately implemented the recommendations of the 1902 committee of inquiry; delivered the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture on 'The Childhood of Animals' (1911); oversaw the development of Mappin Terraces, a massive reinforced concrete structure for animals, including bears and wild goats, reducing confinement of animals (1914); involved with the department of military intelligence at the War Office, concentrating on propaganda for distribution on the German front lines, and developing the idea of dropping leaflets from hydrogen balloons (1914-1918); oversaw the opening of an aquarium under Mappin Terraces, the Zoological Society’s most ambitious project (1924) and a new reptile house (1927); succeeded in encouraging the Zoological Society to purchase the Whipsnade Farm in Bedfordshire and subsequently opened a new zoological park (1931); retired as secretary of the Zoological Society (1935); moved to Málaga, staying there during the first six months of the Spanish Civil War; served as honorary treasurer of the Joint Committee for Soviet Aid (1939-1945); died as a consequence of accidentally being knocked down outside the north gate of London Zoo (1945). Honours: CBE (1918); Kt (1929) Memberships: FLS; FZS; Savile Club; President of the Society for the Preservation of the Fauna of the Empire (1923-1927) |
Membership category | Fellow |
Date of election | 03/05/1906 |
Age at election | 42 |
Proposer | William Turner Thiselton-Dyer; Sydney John Hickson; John Bretland Farmer; Frank Evers Beddard; Joseph Fayrer; Harry Govier Seeley; William Abbott Herdman; Frederick William Pavy |
John Scott Burdon-Sanderson; Edwin Ray Lankester; Edward Bagnall Poulton; Walter Frank Raphael Weldon; Adam Sedgwick; Hans Friedrich Gadow; Arthur Smith Woodward; James Cossar Ewart; Thomas George Bond Howes; Henry Woodward |
Relationships | Parents: Revd Alexander Mitchell, and Marion Hay, daughter of the Revd Peter Chalmers. Spouse: Lilian Bessie Pritchard (d. 1965), youngest daughter of Charles Pritchard (1808–1893) (1893) |
PublishedWorks | RCN 55645 |
OtherInfo | Remembered mainly for hisgreat services as Secretary of the Zoological Society of London between 1903-1935. Ensured animals were kept in well-ventilated accommocation adn had access to open air. Known for founding Whipsnade Zoo. Published a series of papers on the muscular system and internal anatomy of bords, including a monographic study of the intestines of birds, and a similar study on the intestines of mammals. |
Royal Society Obituary or Memoir | Click to view (may be contained within a meeting notice, presidential address or list of death notices) |
Source | Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB Obituaries: Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society 1945-1948 vol 5 pp 367-372, plate, by Edward Hindle |
Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/25383643 |
Code | NA1851 |
RefNo | Title | Date |
IM/003121 | Mitchell, Sir Peter Chalmers | nd |
RR/17/292 | Referee's report by Peter Chalmers Mitchell, on a paper 'An investigation on the anatomical structure and relationships of the labyrinth in the reptile, the bird and the mammal' by Albert A Gray | July 1908 |
NLB/28/797 | Copy letter from Joseph Larmor, to Dr Peter Chalmers Mitchell | 25 May 1904 |
NLB/31/775 | Copy letter from Robert Frederick William Harrison, to Dr [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, [Fellow of the Royal Society] | 13 November 1905 |
NLB/32/747 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to [Messrs Harrison & Sons] | [19 May 1906] |
NLB/36/485 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr Peter Chalmers Mitchell, Fellow of the Royal Society | 4 November 1907 |
NLB/39/221 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr P [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, Fellow of the Royal Society | 12 December 1908 |
NLB/39/673 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr P [Peter] C [Chalmers] Mitchell, Fellow of the Royal Society | 22 February 1909 |
NLB/39/768 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr P C Mitchell, Fellow of the Royal Society | 9 March 1909 |
NLB/38/765 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr Peter Chalmers Mitchell, Fellow of the Royal Society | 3 November 1908 |
NLB/42/357 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr H Forster Morley | 27 May 1910 |
NLB/42/768 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr P [Peter] C [Chalmers] Mitchell FRS | 5 October 1910 |
NLB/45/399 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr P [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell FRS, Zoological Society, Regent's Park, NW | 29 February 1912 |
NLB/47/135 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr P [Peter] C [Chalmers] Mitchell FRS | 6 December 1912 |
NLB/47/567 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr P [Peter] C [Chalmers] Mitchell FRS | 22 February 1913 |
NLB/47/611 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr P [Peter] C [Chalmers] Mitchell FRS | 3 March 1913 |
NLB/51/266 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society to Dr Peter Chalmers Mitchell FRS | 27 January 1915 |
NLB/50/716 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr [Peter Chalmers] Mitchell, Fellow of the Royal Society | 20 October 1914 |
NLB/51/435 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society to Dr Peter Chalmers Mitchell FRS | 19 March 1915 |
NLB/59/556 | Copy letter from Edwin Deller, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, FRS | 18 October 1920 |
NLB/52/582 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. Peter Chalmers Mitchell, FRS | 22 January 1916 |
NLB/56/315 | Copy letter from [Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society]; to Dr. [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, FRS | 13 January 1919 |
NLB/59/767 | Copy letter from Edwin Deller, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, FRS | 10 November 1920 |
NLB/53/429 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [Peter Chalmers] Mitchell, FRS | 08 August 1916 |
NLB/64/17 | Copy letter from James Hopwood Jeans, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, FRS; Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, N.W.8. | 19 January 1923 |
NLB/65/226 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [Peter Chalmers] Mitchell, FRS | 24 September 1923 |
NLB/61/367 | Copy letter from James Hopwood Jeans, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, FRS | 23 June 1921 |
NLB/64/744 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, OBE FRS. | 13 June 1923 |
NLB/62/198 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to [Peter Chalmers Mitchell,] the Secretary of the Zoological Society for London; Regent's Park, N.W. | 23 December 1921 |
NLB/67/784 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [Peter Chalmers] Mitchell, FRS | 7 March 1925 |
NLB/64/25 | Copy letter from James Hopwood Jeans, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, FRS; Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, N.W.8. | 19 January 1923 |
NLB/62/782 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [Peter Chalmers] Mitchell, FRS | 5 May 1922 |
NLB/64/130 | Copy letter from David Prain, Treasurer and Vice President of the Royal Society; to Dr. [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, FRS | 5 February 1923 |
NLB/64/59 | Copy letter from David Prain, Treasurer of the Royal Society; to Dr. [Peter Chalmers] Mitchell, FRS | 25 January 1923 |
NLB/63/777 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, FRS | 14 December 1922 |
NLB/65/876 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to M. Kasimir de Proszynski; Replingham Road, S.W.18 | 21 January 1924 |
NLB/65/916 | Copy letter from David Prain, Treasurer of the Royal Society; to Dr [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, FRS | 28 January 1924 |
RR/28/100 | Referee's report by Peter Chalmers Mitchell, on a paper 'Studies in amphibian colour change.—II' by H R Hewer | [February 1923] |
NLB/65/224 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [Henry] Forster Morley | 24 September 1923 |
NLB/64/783 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Sir Sidney Harmer, FRS. | 18 June 1923 |
NLB/67/120 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [Peter Chalmers] Mitchell, FRS | 29 October 1924 |
NLB/67/81 | Copy letter from David Prain, Treasurer of the Royal Society; to [Dr Henry] Forster Morley; 12 Heathview Garden, S.W.15. | 15 October 1924 |
NLB/67/533 | Copy letter from David Prain, Treasurer of the Royal Society; to Dr [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, CBE, FRS | 16 January 1925 |
NLB/67/463 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [Peter Chalmers] Mitchell, FRS | 3 January 1925 |
NLB/67/505 | Copy letter from David Prain, Treasurer of the Royal Society; to Dr [Peter Chalmers] Mitchell, FRS | 12 January 1925 |
NLB/67/308 | Copy letter from [James Hopwood Jeans, Secretary of the Royal Society]; to Dr [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, FRS | 25 November 1924 |
NLB/67/339 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [Peter Chalmers] Mitchell, CBE, FRS | 6 December 1924 |
NLB/66/448 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, FRS | 12 May 1924 |
NLB/67/771 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [Peter Chalmers] Mitchell, FRS | 3 March 1925 |
NLB/67/559 | Copy letter from William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Professor [John] Stanley Gardiner, FRS | 22 January 1925 |
NLB/69/450 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, C.B.E, FRS | 19 April 1923 |
NLB/69/257 | Copy letter from James Hopwood Jeans, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, FRS | 11 February 1926 |
NLB/69/646 | Copy letter from James Hopwood Jeans, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, FRS | 8 July 1926 |
NLB/68/763 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [Peter Chalmers] Mitchell, FRS | 30 October 1925 |
NLB/68/869 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, FRS | 16 November 1925 |
NLB/70/672 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [Peter Chalmers] Mitchell, CBE, FRS | 28 June 1927 |
NLB/72/396 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Sir [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, CBE, FRS | 30 September 1929 |
NLB/70/951 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [Peter Chalmers] Mitchell, FRS | 18 November 1927 |
NLB/72/403 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Sir [Peter] Chalmers Mitchell, CBE, FRS | 3 October 1929 |
NLB/73/241 | Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell, FRS | 23 March 1931 |
NLB/29/811 | Copy letter from Joseph Larmor, to Dr Peter Chalmers Mitchell, [Fellow of the Royal Society] | 13 December 1904 |
NLB/39/712 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr P [Peter] C [Chalmers] Mitchell, Fellow of the Royal Society | 26 February 1909 |
RR/51/150 | Referee's report by Peter Chalmers Mitchell, on a paper 'Studies in reptilian colour response. I. - The bionomics and physiology of the pigmentary activity of the chameleon' by Alexander Zoond and Joyce Eyre | [August 1933] |
EC/1906/12 | Mitchell, Sir Peter Chalmers: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |
NLB/28/837 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr Joseph Larmor, Fellow of the Royal Society | 3 June 1904 |
NLB/67 | New Letter Book volume 67, copy letters sent from Royal Society administration | 26 September 1924-23 April 1925 |
NLB/64 | New Letter Book volume 64, copy letters sent from Royal Society administration | 19 January 1923-11 July 1923 |
NLB/45/393 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr P [Peter] C [Chalmers] Mitchell FRS | 27 February 1912 |
NLB/29/895 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr Peter Chalmers Mitchell, Fellow of the Royal Society | 9 January 1905 |
NLB/31/207 | Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr Peter Chalmers Mitchell, [Fellow of the Royal Society] | 10 July 1905 |