Hugh Falconer
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Hugh Falconer (February 29, 1808 – January 31, 1865) was a Scottish palaeontologist, geologist and botanist, and the younger brother of the notable merchant Alexander Falconer.
Falconer was Superintendent of the botanic garden at Saharanpur, India from 1832-1842 during which time he became noted for his study of fossil mammals in the Siwalik Hills. Perhaps most notably, Falconer observed long periods of evolutionary stasis in these mammals with short periods of rapid evolutionary change throughout geological time. This research shows great foresight; Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould developed the same basic theory a century later, a theory known as punctuated equilibrium. Ill health forced Falconer to leave India and he subsequently travelled extensively throughout Europe making geological observations. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1845.
The flower Rhododendron falconeri was named after Falconer by Joseph Dalton Hooker.
The Falconer Museum in Forres is currently closed for redevelopment. Due to open in summer 2007 it will tell the story of High Falconer as well as stories of local and Scottish interest.
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