John Xantus de Vesey

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Portrait in the Lexikon of Napkelet, 1927

John Xantus de Vesey (born Xántus János)[ October 5, 1825 (Csokonya, Hungary) - December 13, 1894, (Budapest, Hungary)] was a Hungarian exile and zoologist. Trained as a lawyer, John Xantus (the aristocratic title de Vesey was an affectation, of which he had several variations) served as an officer in the nationalist uprisings of 1848-1849 in the Hungarian Army. He was captured and exiled to Prague, arrested again, and escaped to the United States via England. In the US he pursued a variety of occupations, including bookseller, druggist, teacher and, hospital steward in the US Army. In the army he met the surgeon Dr W.A. Hammond, who was a collector for the noted zoologist Spencer Fullerton Baird. Working under Hammond as an assistant surgeon, he soon developed an interest in natural history and became gifted collector himself. He managed to use the support of Baird and the soon to be Surgeon General Hammond, getting them to write letters of recommendation on his behalf. On the basis of these he was given a consular position in Mexico, a position he promptly lost after embarrassing the State Department by recognising a local rebelling war lord. Soon after this he returned to Hungary. For thirty years until his death in 1894 he served as the Director of the Zoological Garden of Budapest and as Curator of Ethnography at the Hungarian National Museum, as well as undertaking collecting expeditions in Asia.

Several animal and plant species have been named for him:

Animals:

Synthliboramphus hypoleucus - Xantus's Murrelet
Hylocharis xantusii - Xantus's Hummingbird
Labrisomus xanti - Largemouth Blenny or Rock Blenny
Halichoeres xanti - Earmuff wrasse, current sci. name Halichoeres bicolor
Umbrina xanti - Polla Drum, Golden Drum, or Golden Croaker
Phyllodactylus xanti - Xantus Leaf-toed Gecko or Leaf-toed Gecko
Portunus xantusii - Xantus swimming crab
Xantusiidae, the night-lizards family, plus the subfamily Xantusiinae and genus Xantusia