Jump to content

John Paget Figg-Hoblyn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Paget Figg-Hoblyn Ph.D (Biological science) (January 25, 1926 – June 12, 2011)[citation needed] was a university professor, and taxonomist. He came to public attention when a BBC documentary was broadcast about the search for him in 1994, after he had failed to claim an inheritance which included Fir Hill Manor.

Inheritance dispute

[edit]

Figg-Hoblyn came to public attention in 1994, when the BBC broadcast a documentary about him.[1][2] In 1965 his father had bequeathed him a 1000-acre estate and the ruins of a manor house, Fir Hill Manor, in Cornwall, England. According to the Official Solicitor, he failed to take up the inheritance.[2] The Official Solicitor was appointed in 1972 to manage the estate for John Figg-Hoblyn in the 1970s when they lost contact with him.[2]

The BBC documentary discovered Figg-Hoblyn was living in a caravan park in California, United States,[2] where he and his sister, Peggy, were following a low-key lifestyle trading in organic produce. The BBC subsequently lost contact with him.[2]

In 2007, the next-in-line to inherit the estate as the eldest male, John Westropp Figg-Hoblyn, put out a call to find John Paget Figg-Hoblyn before the inheritance which included Fir Hill Manor was lost.[2][3]

John Paget Figg-Hoblyn died in a nursing home on 12 June 2011 at the age of 85.[where?][citation needed]

Academic career

[edit]

Figg-Hoblyn was educated at Stanford University, California, United States. In 1953, he described a unique species of jewel beetle that he had discovered, which was given the name Acmaeodera nanbrownae. This name is now classified as a junior synonym for Acmaeodera vanduzeei.[4] Dr. Figg-Hoblyn used to have a lab at Stanford University,[citation needed] and taught at San Jose State University.[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Curse of Fir Hill Manor". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Mystery over heir to £5m fortune". BBC News. 25 February 2007.
  3. ^ Heir refuses to claim £5m estate, Daily Telegraph, 22 February 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  4. ^ "ITIS Standard Report Page: Acmaeodera nanbrownae". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Bizarre family saga reaches a settlement". Cornish Guardian. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2013.