Nationality British Name Jannion Elliott | ||
Known for Ornithology, Natural history | ||
Jannion Steele Elliott (25 May 1871 – 27 March 1942) was a British ornithologist and naturalist who, in particular, accumulated large amounts of information on the mammals and birds of Bedfordshire.
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Life
Elliott was born in Bedford on 25 May 1871 and educated at Bedford Modern School.
Elliott co-owned a foundry business in Dudley, West Midlands with his brother. The business specialised in making fire grates and Elliott and his brother were to file three patents regarding the improvement of the domestic fire grate. However, Elliott's main interest was ornithology.
Elliott published his first book "The Vertebrate Fauna of Bedfordshire" at his own expense in 1901. In their book, "The Birds of Bedfordshire" (1991), Paul Trodd and David Kramer stated that "the works of Jannion Steele Elliott were our base reference and it is only now that we can appreciate the importance of his writings when comparing the status of species than with those of today."
Elliott developed a large collection of the local birds of Bedfordshire which he gave to the Pritchard Museum of Bedford Modern School which was later to become a key component of the Bedford Museum. His collection was later transferred to the Luton Museum.
Of Elliott, the British ornithologist Bruce Campbell stated "On June 4th, 1903, Jannion Steele-Elliott, the great Bedfordshire naturalist and his friend Ronald Bruce Campbell, my father, spent the day at Southill Park and found nests with eggs of 27 different species of bird, a feat which can have few parallels in British field ornithology."
Elliott was a Tring correspondent (1899–1942) and records of his ornithological work are kept in the archives of the Natural History Museum.
On 30 July 1925, Elliott married Doris Amie Sheldon. They lived at Dowles Manor, Bewdley, Worcestershire. Elliott died on 27 March 1942 visiting his brother in Montgomeryshire.