Joan Beauchamp Procter

Joan Beauchamp Procter (5 August 1897 – 20 September 1931) was a notable British zoologist, internationally recognised as an outstanding herpetologist. She worked initially at the British Museum (Natural History) and later for the Zoological Society of London as the first female Curator of Reptiles at London Zoo. Her short life was afflicted by chronic ill-health, but she undertook substantial taxonomic work and made significant innovative contributions to veterinary practice and zoo displays. She also wrote scientific and popular zoological articles, including early accounts of the behaviour of captive Komodo dragons.

Early life Joan Procter was born in London on 5 August 1897, at 11 Kensington Square,Cambridge, UK. GCPP Procter 5/1/8 (former reference: MISS 7), Girton College Archive. Index and summary online at http://janus.lib.cam.ac.uk/db/node.xsp?id=EAD%2FGBR%2F0271%2FGCPP%20Procter%205%2F1%2F8 the daughter of Joseph Procter, a stockbroker, and Elizabeth Procter (née Brockbank), an artist. Her grandfather William Brockbank was a lover of art and also an amateur botanist and geologist. Family interests in the arts and sciences influenced both Joan and her sister Chrystabel Prudence Goldsmith Procter (1894–1982). The family homes had large gardens, which facilitated the sisters’ childhood pursuits in natural history. Christabel became Estate Manager at Bryanston School in Dorset and Garden Steward at Girton College, Cambridge.

While still at Norland Place School (1904–1908), Joan Procter developed a special interest in amphibians and reptiles. She became familiar with all the British species of reptile, and from the age of ten she kept several snakes and lizards as pets. A large Dalmatian lizard was a special pet, which travelled everywhere with her and sat on the table beside her at mealtimes.Anon. 1931. Obituary: Miss Joan Procter – A zoologist of genius, The Times, London, 21 September, page 14. Available at She was a sickly child, but, as a twelve-year-old, she spent an active six months in Switzerland enjoying dancing, tobogganing, and botany. This was the only time when she was relatively free of the chronic intestinal illness that afflicted her throughout the rest of her life.

Her fascination with reptiles developed further during her time at St Paul's Girls' School, Hammersmith (1908–1916). When she was sixteen, she acquired a young crocodile as a pet and took it with her to school, resulting in consternation in a mathematics lesson.Bailes, Howard. 2004. Procter, Joan Beauchamp (1897–1931), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. She was said to be a "brilliant" student, but her education was frequently interrupted because of chronic ill-health. Although she showed great promise, illness led to her abandoning the idea of going to Cambridge University.

The British Museum (Natural History) Joan Procter's enquiries about reptiles brought her to the attention of George Albert Boulenger, then Keeper of Reptiles and Fishes at the British Museum (Natural History) and he encouraged her interest. When she left school, Boulenger invited her to work under his direction and in 1916 she became his assistant, working at the museum in South Kensington in a voluntary capacity.Anon. 1923. Woman Curator of Reptiles: Appointments at the Zoo, The Times, London, 19 July, page 9. Available at Mentored by him, she was able to engage in academic zoology although she lacked university qualifications. At the age of nineteen, she presented her first scientific paper to the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) on variations of a Central and South American species of pit viperProcter, J. B. (August 1918). On the variations of the pit-viper Lachesis atria. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1918: pp. 163–182 and in August 1917 she was elected as a Fellow of the Zoological Society (FZS). When Boulenger retired in 1920, she took sole charge of reptiles at the museum and received a small stipend for her workStearn, William T. 1981. The Natural History Museum at South Kensington: a history of the British Museum (Natural History) 1753–1980. Chapter 12, pages 171 – 172. Heinemann, London.

Between 1917 and 1923 she conducted research and wrote a series of scientific papers on the anatomy, classification and habits of reptiles and amphibians. NotableBellairs, Angus d’A., and D. J. Ball, in Solly Zuckerman, (ed.). 1976. The Zoological Society of London 1826–1976 and Beyond : Proceedings of a symposium held at the Zoological Society of London, 25–26 March 1976 (Symposia of the Zoological Society of London, No. 40), page 120. Academic Press, London. amongst these is her study of an East African tortoise, now known as Malacochersus tornieri, which is able to conceal itself in rock crevices because of its flexible carapace.Procter, J. B. 1922. A study of the remarkable tortoise Testudo Loveridgii Blgr., and the morphology of the Chelonian carapace. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1922: No 34 In 1923, William Bateson sought her support for his critique of Paul Kammerer’s controversial work on the midwife toad (Alytes). Although Procter was "not averse to war with Kammerer", she believed there was insufficient material to assist Bateson on this issue.Koestler, Arthur. 1971. The Case of the Midwife Toad, page 78, Pan Books (1974 edition), London.

Procter corresponded widely,Procter, J. B., et al. 1912–1925. Joan Procter correspondence: Personal and professional letters, in Zoological Society of London Archives, ZSL Library, London. Ref. GB 0814 ZBB. Index of correspondents listed at http://library.zsl.org/GLASOPAC/TitleView/BibInfo.asp?BrowseCode=3F800000&BrowseIndex=4 establishing her reputation with scientists around the world, and formally described many animals collected by others.Smith, M. A., and J. B. Procter. 1921. On a collection of reptiles and batrachians from the island of Ceram, Indo–Australian Archipelago. Annals and Magazine of Natural History Series, 940: pp. 352–355 She was elected as a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London (FLS) in recognition of the high quality of this taxonomic work.Smith Woodward, Dr. A. (Chair) 1923. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, 3 May 1923. Available at https://archive.org/stream/proceedingsoflin191923linn/proceedingsoflin191923linn_djvu.txt She also became a member of the Bombay Natural History Society.Anon. 1923. Evening Post, volume CVI, Issue 86, page 9, Wellington, New Zealand. (National Library of New Zealand, National Newspapers Collection) Available online at http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=EP19231009.2.113 Joan Procter was also an accomplished draughtswoman and modeller. She made models for display cases at the museum and combined her artistic flair with scientific accuracy in a series of paintings of amphibians and reptiles that were reproduced in colour as postcards.

Zoological Society of London

Joan Procter's artistic and technical abilities became known within the Zoological Society, mainly through her friendship with George Boulenger's son, Edward G. Boulenger, who had been the society's Curator of Reptiles since 1911.Anon. 1946. Mr E. G. Boulenger: The Aquarium at the Zoo, The Times, London, 2 May 1946, page 7. Available at By early 1923 he had responsibility for developing the new Aquarium at London Zoo and, although she was still employed at the British Museum (Natural History), Procter assisted him for several months, by building scale models of the new aquarium tanks and applying her artistry to designs for their rock-work and backgrounds.Chalmers Mitchell, Peter. 1929. Centenary History of the Zoological Society of London, page 178. Zoological Society of London, London. ASIN: B0006AQ4YAAnon. 1924. The London Zoological Society’s Aquarium, Nature, Volume 113, Number 2842 (19 April 1924), pp 571 – 572 . Available at http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v113/n2842/abs/113571a0.html She met Sir Compton Mackenzie, who provided large quantities of shell sand for the Aquarium from the Channel Island of Herm.Anon. 1925. The Zoological Gardens: Progress with the new Aquarium, The Times, London, 15 June, page 17. Available at Later that year, Edward Boulenger was appointed as Director of the Aquarium and Joan Procter was appointed his successor as Curator of Reptiles.Chalmers Mitchell, Peter. 1929. Centenary History of the Zoological Society of London, page 82. Zoological Society of London, London. ASIN: B0006AQ4YA In correspondence with Karl Patterson Schmidt in Chicago, Procter confided that she was pleased to leave the Natural History Museum because conditions there were unfavourable to women.Greene, Harry W., and M. Fogden. 2000. Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature. pp. 297–298. University of California Press.

Design work at London Zoo Following her success with the aquarium, she designed rockwork for outdoor areas at the Zoo, including the Antelope Paddock.Anon. 1924. New rockwork at the Zoo: The Antelope Paddock, The Times, London, 14 July, page 8. Available at She made models of the extensive rock structures for Monkey Hill (1924–1925)Chalmers Mitchell, Peter. 1929. Centenary History of the Zoological Society of London, page 184. Zoological Society of London, London. ASIN: B0006AQ4YA which was built on the site of the present Animal Hospital.Brambell, M. R., and Sue J. Mathews, in Solly Zuckerman, (ed.). 1976. The Zoological Society of London 1826–1976 and Beyond : Proceedings of a symposium held at the Zoological Society of London, 25–26 March 1976 (Symposia of the Zoological Society of London, No. 40), page 151. Academic Press, London. The large troop of hamadryas baboons established there proved very popular with visitors and, in Joan Procter's lifetime, Monkey Hill was considered a success. The social dynamics of the baboons later became too problematic to resolve; the hill was then used for goats, and briefly for rhesus macaques, before being closed and demolished shortly after the Second World War.Barrington-Johnson, J. 2005. The Zoo – The Story of London Zoo, page 88. Robert Hale, London.