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Hill Country natural history authority dies in England
On this day in 1929, Howard George Lacey, rancher and naturalist, died
in Bournemouth, England. He was born in Wareham, Dorset, England, on
April 15, 1856, to aristocratic parents who sent him to private European
schools; he earned a B.A. degree from Caius College, Cambridge. He
immigrated to the United States at the age of twenty-six and settled in
Kerr County, Texas. In 1882 he purchased land on Turtle Creek, seven
miles southwest of Kerrville, where he ranched for almost forty years.
He gained wide recognition as a breeder of Angora goats, but his
greatest fame came from his interest in natural sciences. His studies,
observations, and collections of Hill Country flora and fauna ensured
his reputation as an authority on the natural history of the region.
Lacey published little, but he corresponded with natural scientists in
Europe and throughout the United States and frequently entertained
internationally known naturalists and scientists at his ranch. In
addition, he worked in close contact with the Smithsonian Institution,
the British Museum of Natural History, the Audubon Society of America,
the American Ornithological Union, and the National Geographic Society.
In recognition of Lacey's contributions to the field of zoology, three
small mammals were named for him. In 1919, in ill health, Lacey sold his
ranch and returned to England. His collection of specimens was donated
to the Witte Museum in San Antonio.
- Links to Related Handbook of Texas Online Articles
- LACEY, HOWARD GEORGE
- HILL COUNTRY
- WITTE MUSEUM
- Links to other Web sites (will be opened in new browser window)
- Witte Museum
- Other Texas Day by Day Articles for This Date
- Mexican Army captures San Antonio; Republic of Texas totters (1842)
- Richard Henry Boyd born into slavery (1843)
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