Douglas Dewar

Born in London on 28 May 1875, Douglas Dewar studied natural science at Jesus College, Cambridge, and joined the Indian civil service in 1898. He went on to serve in India for many years, including a posting as Accountant General in Punjab, while building a parallel career as a writer and ornithologist.

He wrote several books on the birds of India and contributed widely to newspapers and periodicals, including The Madras Mail, Pioneer, and Times of India. His bird writing stood out for its emphasis on watching birds alive in the field rather than treating ornithology as a purely museum-based science.

In his later years, Dewar became an active critic of evolution and was a founding member of the Evolution Protest Movement. He died on 13 January 1957, leaving behind a body of work that ranges from popular natural history to sharp scientific and cultural debate.