| Code | PX1899 |
| Dates | 1878-1967 |
| Person Name | Meinertzhagen; Richard Henry (1878-1967); Colonial administrator; ornithologist |
| Surname | Meinertzhagen |
| Forenames | Richard Henry |
| Epithet | Colonial administrator; ornithologist |
| Activity | Richard Meinertzhagen was born in London and educated at Harrow School and the University of Göttingen. He spent much of his childhood at Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire, and became a keen ornithologist. He joined the army in 1899, serving in India and East Africa, and as Intelligence Officer with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force and in Allenby's Palestine Campaign. Meinertzhagen was in the intelligence branch of GHQ in France, and attended the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. He held military posts at the Foreign Office until 1925, when he retired to devote himself to ornithology. For the rest of his long life, Meinertzhagen travelled in north Africa and the Middle East, studying and collecting birds, although he retained an involvement with military intelligence and the secret service. He published a series of autobiographical diaries, as well as papers in The Ibis and books on the birds of Arabia and elsewhere. He was Vice-President and medallist of the British Ornithologists' Union and President of the British Ornithologists' Club. He was made a CBE for his services to ornithology.
Meinertzhagen was associated with the Museum throughout his life, and was a regular visitor to the Bird Room for nearly sixty years. It was not an easy relationship: he was often fiercely critical of the Museum, and his own conduct gave cause for concern on several occasions. In spite of this he was made an Honorary Associate.
He had his own collection of 25,000 skins in his house in Kensington Park Gardens. In 1950 and 1954 these were made over to the Museum to remain under his control during his lifetime. His cabinets and birds were transferred to the Museum in May 1954 and were housed in part of the gallery which had previously housed the 'old Bird Room' and more recently called the Spencer Gallery. They were not moved to Tring at the time the main bird collections were transferred but om 29 April 1974, when the space was required at South Kensington, they were moved and kept in the Annexe in Akeman Street. The collection had to be fumigated before being moved into the main building. At first, specimens were kept in separate drawers at the end of each species in the bird collection because of doubts about some of them but over the years have been incorporated. Since Meinertzhagen's death evidence has emerged that many of his birdskins were stolen or had been given false localities.
References:
Dictionary of National Biography. Missing Persons. 1989.
Cocker, M. 1989. Richard Meinertzhagen, soldier, scientist and spy. Secker & Warburg. Pp. 292.
Ibis 99, 1957, p.369
Obituary: Ibis 1967: 617-620.
Portrait Ibis 1959, pl.6.
See several autobiographical and biographical books with portraits. |
| Relationships | Married to Annie Meinertzhagen |
| RefNo | Title | Source |
| DF/PAL/100/163/24 | Meinertzhagen, R | |
| DF/ZOO/200/129/54 | Meinertzhagen, Colonel Richard | |
| DF/ZOO/212/32 | Meinertzhagen, R | |
| DF/ZOO/218/3/3 | Mammalia accessions register, 1904-1910 | |
| DF/ZOO/209/2 | Monthly reports by the Keeper for the Trustees | |
| DF/ZOO/232/5/13/10/13 | Meinertzhagen, R. | |
| DF/ZOO/230/5/151 | Meinertzhagen, G | |
| DF/ENT/302/13 | Entomology out-letters, carbon-copy book | |
| DF/ZOO/230/5/280 | Meinertzhagen, G | |
| DF/TRI/3004/32 | Tring - the move (including move of Meinertzhagen Collection in April 1974) | |
| DF/ZOO/232/5/14/12/14 | Meinertzhagen, R. | |
| DF/ZOO/212/31 | Meinertzhagen, R | |
| DF/ZOO/216/31 | Collections received | |
| DF/TRI/3000/7/1 | Officer in Charge - Terence C.S. Morrison-Scott (to early October) then J.R. Norman (from 16 Oct) | |
| DF/ENT/340/14/25 | Meinertzhagen - Meloni | |
| DF/ZOO/232/5/15/11/15 | Meinertzhagen, R. | |
| DF/ENT/302/18 | Entomology out-letters, carbon-copy book | |
| DF/ZOO/236/3 | Knox, Alan G: Papers and Correspondence | |
| DF/ZOO/236/6/127 | External Correspondence (Mollusca and Birds): Vaurie, Dr Charles | |
| DF/ENT/302/10 | Entomology out-letters, carbon-copy book | |
| DF/ZOO/205/30 | 'Official documents': copies of reports to Trustees with supporting letters, lists and notes, 1904-1906 | |
| DF/ADM/1004/225 | Collections: Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen's mammals and insects from the Hoggar Mountains [Algeria] and ornithological collections | |
| DF/ZOO/236/13/1 | Correspondence of Richard Meinertzhagen | |
| DF/ENT/302/33 | Entomology out-letters, carbon-copy book | |
| DF/ZOO/232/12/8/8 | Hayman, Robert William: Correspondence, 1962, M | |
| DF/ZOO/237/4/3 | Meinertzhagen collection curation files | |
| DF/ZOO/237/4/4 | Colonel Meinertzhagen's wing drawings (by D W Snow) | |
| DF/ZOO/236/13 | Correspondence of Richard Meinertzhagen (1878-1967), ornithologist and donor | |
| DF/ZOO/237/8/2/1 | Glegg, W E: Correspondence and Memoranda | |
| DF/ZOO/230/52 | Bird Section Correspondence: Mein - Moreau | |
| DF/ZOO/205/76 | Contents to reports and Documents, Volume 2, 1912-1914 | |
| DF/ZOO/205/75 | Contents to reports and Documents, Volume 1, 1909-1912 | |
| DF/ZOO/205/77 | Contents to reports and Documents, Volume 3, 1915-1917 | |
| DF/ZOO/205/78 | Contents to reports and Documents, Volume 4, 1917-1919 | |
| DF/ZOO/205/79 | Contents to reports and Documents, Volume 5, 1919-1921 | |
| DF/PAL/140/1/4 | Pycraft, William: Anthropology Photographic Collection | |
| DF/ZOO/218/7/17 | Meinertzhagen Collection, Bird Skin Accession Register | |