John Charles Melliss

Title page

He was born on the island of St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. His father, Lieutenant G.W. Melliss, was an officer of the St Helena Artillery. After training as an engineer, and serving as an officer in the Royal Engineers, he was appointed as government surveyor in St Helena from 1860 to 1871. In 1871, because of government cutbacks, he was made redundant and returned to London, where he subsequently formed the firm of J.C. Melliss and Co.

In 1875, he published the book for which he is best known: St. Helena: A Physical, Historical and Topographical Description of the Island, Including the Geology, Fauna, Flora and Meteorology.

Joseph Dalton Hooker named the genus Mellissia in his honour.

To commemorate the book's centenary in 1975, the St. Helena Post Office published a series of stamps.

Melliss's son, H.J. Melliss, joined his father's company (later named Melliss and Partners following a partnership with H.R. Smart). He worked for the company until 1955.

• Melliss LLP Consulting Civil and Structural Engineers at www.melliss.com and look under the Melliss LLP company history page
• St. Helena: A Physical, Historical and Topographical Description of the Island, Including the Geology, Fauna, Flora and Meteorology by Melliss, through the Biodiversity Heritage Library