Charles C. G. Chaplin

Charles C. G. Chaplin
Born
Charles Clifford Gordon Chaplin

1906 (1906)
Ranikhet, India
Died1991 (aged 84–85)
NationalityBritish-American
CitizenshipAmerican
EducationEton College
Occupationichthyologist
Notable workfounder, Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park
Spouse
Louise Davis Catherwood
​
​
(m. 1937)​
Childrentwo, including Gordon
AwardsInternational Oceanographic Foundation's Angling Award

Charles Clifford Gordon Chaplin (1906–1991) was an American ichthyologist and author of British origins.

Personal life

Chaplin was born in Ranikhet, India, where his father, a major in the British Army, was stationed. Chaplin grew up in North Wales, UK, and was educated at Eton College, England.

In 1937, he married Louise Davis Catherwood of Philadelphia (1906–1983), and moved to that city. During World War II, he served with the British Consulate in Philadelphia and later became an American citizen.

Career

In the late 1940s Chaplin began his ichthyological work in Nassau, Bahamas, as a research associate for Philadelphia's Academy of Natural Sciences.[1]

Fishes of the Bahamas and Adjacent Waters

Over the next 15 years, working with his Academy colleague Dr James Böhlke, he studied and collected over 500 species of Bahamian fishes, 65 of them never before described.[2] Their work led to the co-authorship of Fishes of the Bahamas and Adjacent Tropical Waters (1968, with a new edition published in 1992). The book remains the "primary reference for the identification of West Indian fishes".[3] Chaplin and Bohlke pioneered the use of SCUBA gear and the organic ichthyocide rotenone in collecting specimens.[2]

Fishwatchers Guide

With British artist and conservationist Sir Peter Scott as illustrator, Chaplin then compiled a general interest guide, A Fishwatchers Guide to West Atlantic Coral Reefs,[4] with a pioneering waterproof edition that could be taken underwater by divers.[5] Waterproof fish guides have since become standard.

Exuma Cays and Sea Park

In 1959, Chaplin and a group of conservationists from Nassau including Ilya Tolstoy, grandson of the writer Leo Tolstoy, founded the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, one of the world's first underwater marine reserves.[6][7] To oversee the park's operation, they established the Bahamas National Trust.

Awards

Chaplin was a recipient of the International Oceanographic Foundation's Angling Award for his contributions to marine science.[8]

Death

Chaplin died in 1991 of an aortic aneurysm.[citation needed] He was survived by son, Gordon Waterman Chaplin and one daughter.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "Time for Tea - The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University".
  2. ^ a b Böhlke and Chaplin (1968). Fishes of the Bahamas and Adjacent Tropical Waters. Livingston Publishing Company.
  3. ^ Smith, C.L.. Copeia, Vol. 1994, No. 1 pp. 253-25
  4. ^ Chaplin and Scott (1972). Fishwatchers Guide to Atlantic Coral Reefs. Livingston Publishing Company.
  5. ^ Chaplin and Scott (1979). Fishwatchers Guide to Atlantic Coral Reefs. Harrowood Books.
  6. ^ Ray, G. Carleton. "Bahamas Protected Areas Part 1: How it all Began". Bahamas Journal of Science, vol. 6, no. 1, Nov 1968
  7. ^ "exumapark.info". www.exumapark.info.
  8. ^ Miami Herald, Nov.15, 1961

Reviews

  • Smith, C.L.. Copeia, Vol. 1969, No. 1, pp. 211–212
  • "Fishes of the Bahamas and Adjacent Tropical Waters". American Forests, v.77, Oct 1971, p. 42
  • Smith, C.L.. Copeia, Vol. 1994, No. 1, pp. 253–254
  • Cowen, R.. The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 69, No. 1 (Mar., 1994), pp. 115–116