author
J. Hampden (John Hampden) Porter
1837–1908
A doctor, traveler, and naturalist, he turned a life of military service and far-reaching journeys into vivid writing about animals, people, and the wider world. His work blends curiosity, field observation, and the adventurous spirit of the late nineteenth century.
1 Audiobook
Wild beasts : A study of the characters and habits of the elephant, lion, leopard, panther, jaguar, tiger, puma, wolf, and grizzly bear
by J. Hampden (John Hampden) Porter
About the author
Born in 1837, John Hampden Porter trained in medicine and earned his M.D. from Georgetown University in 1861. He served as an acting assistant surgeon in the U.S. Navy and as an assistant surgeon during the Civil War before moving into a remarkably varied literary life.
After the war, he became known as a writer, sociologist, naturalist, and big-game hunter. Sources describe him as a wide traveler, especially in Central America, who contributed papers to the Smithsonian Institution and the International Bureau of the American Republics, and also wrote a weekly column for the New York Tribune based on his travels and adventures.
Readers today are most likely to encounter him through Wild Beasts, a lively study of animal behavior that reflects both nineteenth-century science writing and firsthand fascination with the natural world. He died in 1908.