| Code | PX655 |
| Dates | 1858-1937 |
| Person Name | Boulenger; George Albert (1858-1937); Assistant in Department of Zoology at NHM |
| Surname | Boulenger |
| Forenames | George Albert |
| Epithet | Assistant in Department of Zoology at NHM |
| Activity | Museum Staff: Appointed to Department of Zoology: 1st Class Assistant 1882; head of reptile and fish section, resigned 1920.
Boulenger is probably history's pre-eminent taxonomist of the lower vertebrates. Although not a great innovator insofar as the method of systematics goes--some of his best known work was based on suggestions made by Cope and others--he had personal and intellectual qualities that made him ideally suited for taxonomic studies. Importantly, he spoke several languages and had a reading knowledge of several others. He also apparently had an astounding memory and knew just about the entire literature on his subject by heart (it was said that from memory and without referral he could on the spot identify--and provide natural history details on--specimens of any known fish, reptile or amphibian species brought to him). In all he described more than 2500 species of lower vertebrates in some nine hundred works by the time of his retirement (after which, for reasons unknown, he occupied himself with studies on roses). Boulenger, for all this craft, was also a contributing theorist, frequently using his taxonomic studies as the basis for posing particular evolutionary and/or zoogeographical hypotheses. He is especially remembered for his work on African forms.
Georges Boulenger started cataloguing the reptile collections after meeting the Keeper of Zoology in the public galleries in 1881. Boulenger had previously worked at the Musée Royal d'Histoire Naturelle in Brussels, and was given responsibility for the spirit collections - glass jars of specimens preserved in alcohol. In 1882 he was appointed 1st class Assistant, and over the next 38 years became world-famous for his work on reptiles and fish. With an excellent memory and language skills, he was a very hard worker - besides having a noted ability to fall asleep anytime, anywhere. On retirement he returned to Belgium and applied his expertise to the study of roses.
Elected to the Royal Society of London 1894. Selected by King Leopold II of Belgium to chair a comittee helping to organise a Belgian Congo Museum. Honoured with the Belgian Order of Leopold 1937
Tring correspondent |
| Source | LTAL caption |
| RefNo | Title | Source |
| DF/ZOO/233/3/2 | Boulenger, George A: Correspondence | |
| DF/TM/1/32/16 | Correspondence B: Bottger; Boucard; Boulenger; Bowdler Sharpe | |
| DF/ZOO/230/4/40-47 | Boulenger, G A | |
| DF/ZOO/200/120/1 | Boulenger's Catalogues | |
| DF/ZOO/230/3/23-25 | Boulenger, George A | |
| DF/PH/2/6/6 | Staff Photographs: George Albert Boulenger | |
| DF/ZOO/211/1 | Boulenger, G A: Monograph of the Lacertidae (1920-1921) | |
| DF/ZOO/235/1/1/1/703 | Skiff, F | |
| DF/TM/1/69/12 | Correspondence B: Bottcher; Boulenger; Bouvier | |
| DF/PH/2/6/6/7 | Staff Photograph: G A Boulenger standing in garden with dog | |
| DF/ZOO/200/63/21 | Boulenger, George Albert, 1858-1937 (British Museum) | |
| DF/PH/2/6/6/2 | Staff Photograph: G A Boulenger, taken at the British Museum | |
| DF/TR/1/1/33/65 | Boulenger, [George] [Albert] | |
| DF/PH/2/6/6/4 | Staff Photograph: G A Boulenger Portrait photo | |
| DF/PH/2/1/3/9 | Staff Photographs by Benjamin Stone: G A Boulenger, zoologist, standing in back colonnade | |
| DF/ZOO/230/5/34 | Boulenger, George A | |
| DF/TR/1/1/27/55 | Boulenger, [George] [Albert] | |
| DF/ZOO/200/53/58 | Boulenger, George Albert | |
| DF/ZOO/235/1/7/1 | Senegal expedition and Nile Survey correspondence | |
| DF/ZOO/235/1/1/2/147 | Newton, E | |
| WP/18/29 | Alfred Russel Wallace to G A Boulenger, photocopies of letters held in the NHM Archives | |
| DF/TM/1/11/15 | Correspondence B: Böttcher; Boulenger; Brazenor Bros; Brenske | |
| DF/ZOO/235/1 | Reptile Section Correspondence | |
| DF/ZOO/233/3 | Boulenger, George Albert: Correspondence | |
| DF/ZOO/233/3/1 | Boulenger, George A: Correspondence | |
| DF/ZOO/235/1/1/1/314 | Goodrich, E S | |
| DF/ZOO/235/1/1/1/23 | Auld, E M | |
| DF/ZOO/235/1/1/1/570 | Newton, E T | |
| DF/PH/2/6/6/5 | Staff Photograph: G A Boulenger sitting at his desk | |
| DF/TM/1/54/13 | Correspondence B: Bonhote; Boulenger; Bousted Bros; Bowers | |
| DF/TM/1/61/15 | Correspondence B: Bouch; Boulenger; Boyer | |
| DF/TR/1/1/28/79 | Boulenger, [George] [Albert] | |
| DF/TR/1/1/29/83 | Boulenger, [George] [Albert] | |
| DF/TM/1/25/17 | Correspondence B: Boucard; Bouleneger; Bouton, Bliss & Dallett; Boursey | |
| DF/PH/2/6/6/6 | Staff Photograph: G A Boulenger standing in garden with a child | |
| DF/TR/1/1/25/53 | Boulenger, [George] [Albert] | |
| DF/TR/1/1/24/44 | Boulenger, [George] [Albert] | |
| DF/PH/2/6/5/1 | Staff Group Photograph: Zoology Department | |
| DF/PH/2/6/6/3 | Staff Photograph: G A Boulenger at his desk with utensils | |
| DF/ZOO/235/1/1/2 | General correspondence | |
| DF/ZOO/235/1/1/1/64 | Berney, George | |
| DF/ZOO/235/1/1/1/67 | Betton, C Stewart | |
| DF/PH/2/6/6/1 | Staff Photograph: G A Boulenger at his desk with spirit jar | |
| DF/ZOO/235 | Reptile Section correspondence and papers | |
| DF/ZOO/235/1/1/2/81 | Gilchrist, J D F | |
| DF/ZOO/200/74/1 | Correspondence B (personal): File 1 | |
| DF/TR/1/1/26/62 | Boulenger, [George] [Albert] | |
| DF/ZOO/202/2 | 'Miscellaneous documents': letters, lists, memoranda and reports relating to the work of the department, gathered by Dr A Günther | |
| DF/PH/3/1/808 | Gallery Photograph Album 2: Visit of 6 Akka people from the Ituri Forest, African Congo, to the Natural History Museum, group photograph, 1905. | |