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Adam White (29 April 1817 – 30 December 1878) was a Scottish
zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
.


Biography

White was born in
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
on 29 April 1817.White, Adam (1817-1878), naturalist
by Ann Datta in the ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
''. He became acquainted with
John Edward Gray John Edward Gray, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for ...
,
Keeper of Zoology The Keeper of Zoology was a zoological academic position within the Natural History Museum in London, England. The Keeper of Zoology acted as the head of the Department of Zoology. The following is a list of those who have held this position, whic ...
at the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
. At the age of eighteen, White obtained a post in the Museum in the Zoology Department. In 1841 he was given the task of identifying and publishing the spiders collected by
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
on the Voyage of the Beagle and "preserved in spirits of wine, as spiders should always be if possible". This work was published as ''Description of new or little known Arachnida''. White specialised in
insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
s and
crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...
s, writing the ''List of the Specimens of Crustacea in the British Museum'' (1847) and ''A Popular History of Mammalia'' (1850). White was a member of the
Entomological Society of London The Royal Entomological Society is devoted to the study of insects. Its aims are to disseminate information about insects and improving communication between entomologists. The society was founded in 1833 as the Entomological Society of Londo ...
from 1839 to 1863, and a Fellow of the
Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...
from 1846 to 1855. White suffered a
nervous breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
after the death of his first wife in 1861. He remarried in 1862, and had at least three children by his second wife. He died
intestate Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...
in
Pollokshields Pollokshields ( gd, Buthan Phollaig, Scots: ''Powkshiels'') is an area in the Southside of Glasgow, Scotland. Its modern boundaries are largely man-made, being formed by the M77 motorway to the west and northwest with the open land of Pollok C ...
on 30 December 1878.


Species named in White's honour

John Obadiah Westwood John Obadiah Westwood (22 December 1805 – 2 January 1893) was an English entomologist and archaeologist also noted for his artistic talents. He published several illustrated works on insects and antiquities. He was among the first entomologist ...
named the insect species '' Taphroderes whitii'' in White's honour, after White pointed a specimen of that same insect out to Westwood during a visit to the British Museum.


Selected works

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References


Further reading

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External links

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Testimonials of Adam White
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Adam 1817 births 1878 deaths Scottish zoologists Scottish entomologists British carcinologists Scottish lepidopterists Employees of the Natural History Museum, London Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Scientists from Edinburgh