John Revilliod

John Revilliod
File:Revilliod, John.jpg
Residence	52 Stanhope Gardens, SW
Society Membership membership ordinary fellow left 1896.02.11 resigned elected_AI 1893.11.14

Notes

House Notes

1893.10.31 proposed for election at the next meeting

Notes From Elsewhere

In 1890, three scientists from Geneva arrived in Singapore. They were Camille Pictet, Maurice Bedot and John Revilliod, although Revilliod was perhaps more of an adventurer than a scientist. Born into a wealthy banking family, he trained at the Military Academy and then started university. He broke off his studies to go travelling around Asia for several years, visiting Ceylon, Borneo, Java, Malaysia, China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma (now Myanmar) and India. He became notorious for his swashbuckling escapades. For example, he traversed the Malay Peninsula going up and down the rivers on a sampan boat, travelling sometimes alone and sometimes with the help of Malay porters and ferrymen. The Geographical Society of Geneva wrote, not without a certain degree of pathos, that he survived the daring venture, completed it without guides, without protection from storms and without an itinerary, in solitude and pursued by tigers, by suffering great privation. Another journey took him overland from Saigon to Bangkok by way of Angkor Wat. The scientific yield of these trips was low. However, Revilliod still held lectures in London and Geneva and was even admitted to the Royal Geographical Society. Although his trips did not give rise to any publishable research, his escapades were mentioned in the newspapers in Singapore. He stayed in the Hotel de l'Europe and entertained the guests there with his banjo. After his return, he was known primarily for his skills as a sports marksman. Aged 62, he still managed to win the world championship title in pistol shooting. [from The Swiss in Singapore by Dr Andreas Zangger]