Arthur Donaldson Smith

Arthur Donaldson Smith (April 27, 1866–February 19, 1939) was an American explorer of East Africa. In 1894 and 1895, he led an expedition to Lake Rudolf (now Lake Turkana) and collected botanical, geological and zoological samples for scientific study. The expedition traversed 4,000 miles through British Somaliland, southern Ethiopia and Kenya. In 1897 he published a book about his travels, Through Unknown African Countries: the First Expedition from Somaliland to Lake Rudolf. He was a member of the American Philosophical Society and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Three species of reptiles, three birds and a desert musk shrew were named in his honor.

Early life and education Smith was born in Andalusia, Pennsylvania, on April 27, 1866, to Jesse Evans Smith and Martha Jane Knight. His family was wealthy and his paternal great-grandfather, Joest Smith Jr., served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. His ancestors had emigrated from Germany and anglicized the family name from Schmidt during the Revolutionary War to avoid any association with the Hessian mercenaries used by the British during war.

African exploration He was a big-game hunter, in partnership with the British Museum, he led an expedition to Lake Rudolph (now Lake Turkana), passing through British Somaliland, southern Ethiopia and Kenya. The expedition began in Berbera and traveled northwest to Lake Rudolph. the tomb of Sheikh Hussein,

Smith was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1897. He was a Fellow in the Royal Geographical Society.

He died on February 19, 1939, and was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

Legacy In 1895, three new species of reptiles endemic to the Horn of Africa were named in his honor by Belgian-British herpetologist George Albert Boulenger: the short racer Playceps brevis smithi, Smith's leaf-toed gecko Hemidactylus smithi, and Smith's racerunner Pseuderemias smithii. Three birds were named in his honor - Donaldson Smith's nightjar Caprimulgus donaldsoni, Donaldson Smith's sparrow-weaver Plocepasser donaldsoni, and Donaldson's Turaco Tauraco leucotis donaldsoni. The Desert musk shrew Crocidura smithii was also named in his honor.

Publications Through Unknown African Countries, New York: Edward Arnold, 1897