Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement/Cornish, Charles John
CORNISH, CHARLES JOHN (1858–1906), naturalist, born on 28 Sept. 1858 at Salcombe House, near Sidmouth, the residence of his grandfather, Charles John Cornish, J.P., D.L., was eldest son of Charles John Cornish, then curate of Sidbury, Devonshire, by his first wife, Anne Charlotte Western (d. 1887). He was brought up at Debenham, Suffolk, where his father became vicar in 1859. In 1872 he entered Charterhouse as a gownboy, and left in 1876. After engaging in private tuition, he entered Hertford College, Oxford, as a commoner in 1881, was elected Brunsell exhibitioner in 1882 and Lusby scholar in 1883. In the same year he obtained his ‘blue’ in association football, a second class in classical moderations in 1883, and a second class in literæ humaniores in 1885. He was then appointed assistant classical master at St. Paul's School, and held the post until his death. He was the founder in 1896 of the school field club. Soon after coming to London he wrote occasional articles on natural history and country life, and in 1890 became a regular contributor to the ‘Spectator,’ and, later, to ‘Country Life.’ Many of his articles re-appeared in book form. Cornish's country tastes and love of shooting and fishing were fostered by his father, in whose family they were traditional. His artistic and literary gifts he inherited from his mother. His powers of observation were unusually keen and rapid, his memory remarkably good, and he had powers of vivid expression. His literary energy, which continued through twenty years, stimulated public interest in natural history and country life, and helped to give these subjects an assured place in English journalism. He died at Worthing on 30 Jan. 1906, from an illness originating in an accident incurred many years before when shooting. After cremation his ashes were interred at Salcombe Regis, near Sidmouth, and a mural tablet to his memory was placed in the parish church. He married in 1893 Edith, eldest daughter of Sir John I. Thornycroft, C.E., F.R.S., by whom he had one daughter.
Cornish was author of the following books: 1. ‘The New Forest,’ 1894. 2. ‘The Isle of Wight,’ 1895. 3. ‘Life at the Zoo,’ 1895 (the work which made him generally known). 4. ‘Wild England of To-day, and the Wild Life in it,’ 1895. 5. ‘Animals at Work and Play,’ 1896. 6. ‘Nights with an Old Gunner,’ 1897. 7. ‘Animals of To-day,’ 1898. 8. ‘The Naturalist on the Thames,’ 1902. 9. ‘Sir William Henry Flower, a Personal Memoir,’ 1904. He co-operated with others in ‘Living Animals of the World’ (2 vols. 1901–2). ‘Animal Artisans and other Studies of Birds and Beasts,’ with a prefatory memoir by his widow, was published in 1907.
[Memoir by his widow, 1907; The Times, 31 Jan. and 5 Feb. 1906; personal knowledge.]