Francis Trevelyan Buckland

Francis Trevelyan Buckland, usually called Frank Buckland, lived from 1826 to 1880 and was an English surgeon, zoologist, popular author and natural historian. He was the eldest son of the geologist William Buckland and grew up in Oxford in a household devoted to natural history. After studying at Christ Church, Oxford, he trained in surgery at St George's Hospital in London, qualified as a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1851 and served as assistant surgeon there, then as assistant surgeon to the 2nd Life Guards from 1854 to 1863. That cavalry post left him time for animals and writing, and he gradually gave up medicine for natural history, becoming a prolific writer for The Field and a sought-after lecturer. He was a founder of the Acclimatisation Society, which promoted new animals and plants as food sources, and he was known for experimenting with eating unusual meats. His record shows how a surgical training could lead into zoology and the popular science of the Victorian period.