James Thacker, veterinary surgeon in the British Army, was the son of Joseph Thacker and his wife Sara Etchells and a younger brother of William Thacker (FamilySearch). He qualified in London on 22 May 1846 and in due course became a staff veterinary surgeon in the Indian Army, stationed in Madras. (Register of members of the RCVS).

According to Curson (1935) James studied at the Veterinary College in London, qualified on 31 January 1844, was gazetted on 14 July 1846, served in South Africa from 1851 to 1853, retired in 1875 and died in Melbourne on 25 June 1876. However, all these particulars belong to his brother William (See Thacker*, William). James was wrongly credited by Curson (1935) and later by Posthumus (1992) with being the first veterinarian in South Africa to contribute an article to veterinary literature.

James Thacker is not known to have made significant contributions to science in southern Africa but is included in this database to set the record straight.

List of sources:

Curson, H. H. Matters of veterinary interest, 1795-1881. Journal of the South African Veterinary Medical Association, 1935, Vol. 6, pp. 74-107, 196-218, 274-296. Downloaded from https://jsava.co.za/index.php/jsava/article/view/12/11

FamilySearch: William Thacker https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JMFW-F3P?lang=en AND Joseph Thacker https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/GQ7K-WHQ

Payne, Karon (direct descendant of William Thacker). Personal communication re William and James Thacker, July-August 2025, including a copies of William’s Australian death record, his will and his service record and James’s baptism record and death certificate

Posthumus, P.J. Past veterinarians in South Africa, Vol. 2, 10^th edition, 1992: Thacker, James

Register of the members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons from January, 1794, to May, 1874, inclusive [electronic resource]. https://dn790004.ca.archive.org/0/items/b21482354/b21482354.pdf

Compiled by: C. Plug

Last updated: 2025-08-23 11:34:39