Sir Harry George Champion CIE (17 August 1891 – 20 June 1979) was a Geographer and forest officer in British India who created a classification of the forest types of India and Burma.
Harry George Champion | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 August 1891 |
| Died | 20 June 1979 |
| Nationality | British |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botany |
Champion was the son of British entomologist George Charles Champion. He studied at New College, Oxford, and obtained a degree in chemistry in 1912 and then studied botany and forestry under William Schlich. He joined the Indian Forest Service in 1915 and became a silviculturist at the Forest Research Institute at Dehradun staying there until 1936 before becoming a Conservator in the United Provinces. He left India in 1939 and became a Professor of Forestry at Oxford, succeeding Robert Scott Troup. Troup had offered him a position at the Imperial Forestry Institute in 1924 but Champion chose not to join it. He married Troup's secretary Crystal Parsons.[1]
Champion published an initial classification of the forest types of India and Burma in 1936. This was revised in 1968 by S K. Seth and this is referred to as the Champion and Seth classification of the forest types of India.[2] His younger brother F. W. Champion was also a forester in India and a pioneer in wildlife photography.
References
edit- ^ Jones, EW (1979). "Obituary: Sir Harry Champion". Forestry. 52 (2): 109–112. doi:10.1093/forestry/52.2.109.
- ^ Champion, Harry G.; Seth, S. K. (1968). A revised survey of the forest types of India. New Delhi: Manager of Publications, Government of India.