Thomas Hardwicke

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Thomas Hardwicke (1755 - May 3, 1835) was an English soldier and naturalist who was resident in India from 1777 to 1823. After returning to England he collaborated with John Edward Gray in the publication of Illustrations of Indian Zoology (1830-35).

At the age of 22, he joined the East India Company. Hardwicke rose to become Major-General in 1819, retiring from the army in 1823 and returned to England.

During his military career in India he travelled extensively over the subcontinent. He started collecting zoological specimens in these travels and amassed a large collection of paintings of animals which he got local artists to make. Most paintings were made from dead specimens, but many were also drawn from life. When he left India he had the largest collection of drawings of Indian animals ever formed by a single individual.

The Indian artists employed by Hardwicke are unknown but they were trained and their style was adapted to the demands of technical illustration using watercolours. The collection was bequeathed to the British Museum in 1835 which was later partly moved to the Natural History Museum. The collection consists of 4500 illustrations.

Hardwicke’s enthusiasm for the natural history of India was matched by the leading naturalists in England, with whom he corresponded. He was in contact with Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society and he himself became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1813. His collections of illustrations were used by zoologists like J. E. Gray. Illustrations of Indian Zoology was published with Hardwicke's financing and it contained 202 large hand coloured plates, but he died before the textual part was produced.