John Stanislaw Kubary
John Stanislaw Kubary (13 November 1846 in Warsaw, Congress Poland – 9 October 1896 in Pohnpei or Manila, Philippines) also stated as Jan Stanisław Kubary, Jan Kubary, or Johann Stanislaus Kubary, was a Polish naturalist and ethnographer.
Also recorded as Johann Stanislaus Kubary
John Stanislaw Kubary

Lucyna Smolinska, Mieczyslaw Sroka: Wielcy znani i nieznani", Warszawa 1988, ISBN 83-212-0463-5 · Public domain
- Name
- John Stanislaw Kubary
- Born
- 13 November 1846
- Birthplace
- Warsaw, Congress Poland
- Place of death
- Pohnpei or Manila
- Spouse
- Anna Yelliott
- Died
- 1896 · Pohnpei.
- Nationality
- German Reich · Poland · Russian Empire
- Occupation
- explorer · anthropologist · ornithologist · ethnographer · biologist · interpreter · photographer · illustrator
- Fields
- anthropology · ornithology
- Education
- University of Warsaw
- Languages
- Polish · German · Marshallese
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Documentary summary
John Stanislaw Kubary (13 November 1846 in Warsaw, Congress Poland – 9 October 1896 in Pohnpei or Manila, Philippines) also stated as Jan Stanisław Kubary, Jan Kubary, or Johann Stanislaus Kubary, was a Polish naturalist and ethnographer.
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Documentary evidence
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Authority files
wikidata · Q89624 · wikipedia · John Stanislaw Kubary
In this article
Biography
Biography
John Stanislaw Kubary studied at University of Warsaw. The recorded working language is Polish, German and Marshallese. The field of work recorded is anthropology and ornithology. Places of work recorded in the authority are German New Guinea and Insular Oceania. Residence is recorded at Berlin and Pohnpei. Employment is recorded with J.C. Godeffroy & son and German New Guinea Company. Work by John Stanislaw Kubary is recorded in the collections of National Museum of World Cultures, Netherlands Photo Museum, Wereldmuseum Rotterdam and Grassi Museum of Ethnology Leipzig.

The First Trip of Jan Kubary to Oceania
Lucyna Smolinska, Mieczyslaw Sroka: Wielcy znani i nieznani, Warszawa 1988, ISBN 83-212-0463-5
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — John Stanislaw Kubary • Native Name — Jan Stanisław Kubary • Born — 13 November 1846 • Birthplace — Warsaw, Congress Poland • Place of death — Pohnpei or Manila • Spouse — Anna Yelliott • Children — 2
Biography
Biography
Kubary was born in Warsaw on 13 November 1846, where he was raised by his stepfather and studied at the University of Warsaw. A participant in the January Uprising of Poles against Russian rule, Kubary ultimately fled to Germany after it failed, and in 1869 he signed a five-year contract to collect for the Museum Godeffroy in Hamburg. He first spent six months living in Apia, Samoa and making trips to Fiji and Tonga while also learning Samoan and sending items back to the museum. In 1870 he traveled to the Ellice Islands (today Tuvalu), Gilbert Islands, and Marshall Islands, where he compiled a dictionary of the dialect spoken in the Ebon Islands. He led a successful response to an influenza epidemic in Palau, which created good relations between himself and the Palauans and assisted his ethnographic research. In 1873 he arrived in the Marshall Islands and Caroline Islands and wrote a description of the Nan Madol archaeological site. He collected a hundred crates of material, but most of it was lost in a shipwreck on Jaluit. A small amount was salvaged, and after more collecting on Jaluit and Samoa he sent 23 crates of material back to the museum. • Illustration — Anna Yelliot, Kubary's wife He arrived in Australia in 1875, and quickly became a naturalized citizen. He returned to Hamburg, lectured in Lwów (Lviv), and renewed his contract for another five years. He made a home on the island of Pohnpei, and used it as a base for his collecting. While collecting in Truk, he was informed that the Museum Godeffroy had released him from his contract due to a shortage of funds. He then returned to his plantation home and married Anna Yelliot. After a hurricane destroyed his home in 1882, he moved to Japan and worked for museums in Tokyo and Yokohama, along with collecting for museums in Leiden and Berlin. In 1885 he found work as an interpreter on the German warship Albatros and took over management of a plantation on Matupit. He traveled to Europe in 1892 and again lectured in Lwów but returned to Polynesia after he failed to find work. He died in 1896, either on his plantation in Pohnpei, or in Manila, Philippines.
Works
Works
• with Alfred Tetens and Eduard Gräffe The Carolines island of Yap or Guap according to the reports of Alfred Tetens and Johann Kubary "Die Carolineninsel Yap oder Guap nach den Mittheilungen von Alf. Tetens und Johann Kubary" Microform Reprint New Haven, Conn. • Die Palau-Inseln in der Suedsee: Das Palau Geld, 49–53. Journal des Museum Godeffroy, I, 4. Hamburg (1873) • Weitere Nachrichten von der Insel Ponape (Carolinen-Archipel) Journal des Museum Godeffroy Heft VII. Hamburg, L. Friedrichsen & Co. pp. 129–135 (1875) • Ethnographische Beitraege zur Kenntnis des Karolinen Archipels, Heft 1: Ueber das Einheimische Geld auf der Insel Yap und auf den Palau-Inseln Leiden (1889)
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
The authorities additionally record the heading Johann Stanislaus Kubary. His recorded languages were Polish, German, Marshallese and Samoan. His recorded confession was Catholic Church. He was the child of Stanisław Kubary, Tomasz Marcinkiewicz and Tekla Schur. He married Anna Yelliot. One child is recorded: Bertram Kubary.
Identity
Identity
John Stanislaw Kubary is recorded with the occupation anthropologist. Kubary worked at German New Guinea. Kubary worked at Insular Oceania. Recorded as having studied at University of Warsaw.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1846
John Stanislaw Kubary was born on 13 November 1846.
1896
John Stanislaw Kubary died on 9 October 1896.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- Berlin, Pohnpei and Warsaw
Named but not plotted · 2
Warsaw.
Birth place
Pohnpei.
Death place
Legacy
Kubary documented at least four bird species: the Samoan wood rail (Gallinula pacifica), the Mariana crow (Corvus kubaryi), the Caroline Islands ground dove (Gallicolumba kubaryi), and the Pohnpei fantail (Rhipidura kubaryi), as well as numerous insects, among them the paradise birdwing butterfly (Ornithoptera paradisea). The peak Mount Kubari on New Guinea is named after him.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Turley, Tomasz J. A Polish Explorer of the Pacific Islands. Polish American Studies. 24. 1. 47–49. 1967. 0032-2806.
- 2.Paszkowski, L. K. Kubary, John Stanislaw (1846–1896). Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University.
- 3.Centre, The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research. Kubary, John Stanislaw - Bright Sparcs Biographical entry. www.asap.unimelb.edu.au.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q89624: John Stanislaw KubaryWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
John Stanislaw Kubary worked in anthropology and ornithology. He was employed by J.C. Godeffroy & son and German New Guinea Company. He worked at German New Guinea, Insular Oceania, Berlin, Pohnpei and Warsaw.
Career and activity
Recognition and collections
Work by John Stanislaw Kubary is
National Museum of World Cultures, Netherlands Photo Museum, Wereldmuseum Rotterdam and Grassi Museum of Ethnology Leipzig
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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