SIR CHARLES BLAGDEN, EARLIEST OF RHODE 
ISLAND ORNITHOLOGISTS. 
REGINALD HEBER HOWE, JUNIOR. 
I was interested, when compiling the Rhode Island, Massa- 
chusetts, and Vermont State lists, to notice the date of the first 
authentic record for any bird within the States named. The 
earliest Massachusetts record was of the Black Skimmer (R/yx- 
chops nigra) recorded in 1605 in the Voyages of Samuel de 
Champlain. The Vermont list contains accounts of observa- 
tions made in 1794, by Samuel Williams, while the Rhode 
Island list dates from the writings of Edward A. Samuels in 
1867. The ornithological literature of the State of Maine dates 
from the History of that State by William D. Williamson, pub- 
lished in 1832; that of New Hampshire from the work of 
Jeremy Belknap in 1792 ; and that of Connecticut from early in 
the nineteenth century. That Rhode Island has always been 
neglected is evidenced by the minimum of literature and the lack 
of material from the State, in all the collections of the country. 
Through the kindness of Mr. William Brewster, I have lately 
received a copy of the Bulletin of. the New York Public Library 
(vol. 7, no. 11, Nov., 1903, pp. 407-446), containing a number 
of letters from Sir Charles Blagden to Sir Joseph Banks, written 
from 1776-1780. 
Sir Charles Blagden, physician, was born on April 17, 1748. 
He graduated from the.University of Edinburgh, and entered 
the army as a medical officer, remaining in service until 1814. 
During the Revolution he was stationed at Charleston, Reedy 
Island, Delaware, New York, and Newport. He wason intimate 
terms with Cavendish, the famous chemist, who bequeathed him 
£16,000. He was also a friend, for fifty years, of Sir Joseph 
Banks, president of the Royal Society, and he himself was 
elected secretary of this Society in 1784. He has been de- 
Scribed as a *careful worker in physical research," and Dr. 
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