Frederick William FitzSimons

Frederick William FitzSimons (6 August 1870 Garvagh, Ireland – 25 March 1951 Grahamstown),

Interests in archaeology Of great interest at the time, FitzSimons' 1913 examination of and report on hominid skull fragments originating from Boskop near Potchefstroom, led to a flurry of speculation:

Subsequently, many similar skulls were unearthed by prominent palaeontologists of the day, including Robert Broom, Alexander Galloway, William Pycraft, Sidney Haughton, Raymond Dart, and others. The current view is that Boskop Man was not a species, but a variation of anatomically modern humans; there are well-studied skulls from Boskop, South Africa, as well as from Skuhl, Qazeh, Fish Hoek, Border Cave, Brno, Tuinplaas, and other locations.

FitzSimons' anthropological work also included studies of the coastal Bushmen or Strandlopers who were ultimately displaced by the Khoikhoi.

Herpetologist FitzSimons' interest in snakes is probably what he is best remembered for, and when he established a snake park at the museum for visitors, it was also to study snakes and snake-bites. From this he became a published authority on South African snakes and their venoms and he patented a (now outdated) first-aid and serum treatment kit. His other son, Desmond Charles FitzSimons, established the Durban Snake Park on the Golden Mile, Durban.

Legacy Frederick William FitzSimons is commemorated in the scientific name of a species of lizard, Tetradactylus fitzsimonsi.

Publications

FitzSimons, F.W. (1912). "Snakes of South Africa; Their Venom and the treatment of Snake Bite". 547pp Fitzsimons, F. W. (1919). The Natural History of South Africa, volumes 1-4. London: Longmans, Green, and Co. FitzSimons, F.W. (1932). "Snakes". 286pp with 44 photographic illustrations. Published by Hutchinson & Co. Ltd, London.