Frederick Vincent Theobald

FES Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...

(15 May 1868 – 6 March 1930) was an English

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

and "distinguished authority on

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

es". During his career, he was responsible for the economic zoology section of the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

, London, vice-principal of the South-Eastern Agricultural College at

Wye, Kent Wye is a village in Kent, England, from Ashford and from Canterbury. It is the main settlement in the civil parish of Wye with Hinxhill. Hop varieties including Wye Challenger were bred at Wye College and named for the village. In 2013, ''S ...

, Professor of Agricultural Zoology at

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

, and advisory entomologist to the Board of Agriculture for the South-Eastern district of England. He wrote a five volume

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

and sixty scientific papers on mosquitoes. He was recognised for his work in entomology, tropical medicine, and

sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...

; awards for his work include the Imperial Ottoman

Order of Osmanieh The Order of Osmanieh or Order of Osmaniye ( ota, نشانِ عثمانیہ) was a civil and military decoration of the Ottoman Empire. History The order was created in January 1862 by Sultan Abdülaziz. With the obsolescence of the Nişan-i ...

, the

Mary Kingsley Medal The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) is a higher education institution with degree awarding powers and registered charity located in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Established in 1898, it was the first institution in the world dedicated ...

, and the

Victoria Medal of Honour The Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH) is awarded to British horticulturists resident in the United Kingdom whom the Royal Horticultural Society Council considers deserving of special honour by the Society. The award was established in 1897 "in per ...

, as well as honorary fellowships of

learned societies A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership may ...

Life and career

Frederick Vincent Theobald was born on 15 May 1868 in

Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and partly in the London Borough of Merton. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre- Saxon times ...

(then in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

), the son of solicitor John P. Theobald and Anne Theobald (née Matthews). From childhood he showed a great interest in nature, particularly

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. Aged eight, "with childish enthusiasm, he set himself the task of writing the 'Fauna of Sussex'" and produced a set of pages his parents deemed worthy of binding. After graduating from

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, he was a University Extension Lecturer in economic zoology for three years before joining the South-Eastern Agricultural College at

, in 1894, where he was lecturer in

economic entomology Economic entomology is a field of entomology, which involves the study of insects that benefit or harm humans, domestic animals, and crops. Insects that cause losses are termed as pests. Some species can cause indirect damage by spreading diseases ...

and zoology, and vice-principal "for several years". Between 1899 and 1910, Theobald worked with 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 ...

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

and led the economic zoology section of the British Museum from 1900 to 1904. He was also Professor of Agricultural Zoology at

. Theobald lectured at the College at Wye until 1920 when he became advisory entomologist to the Board of Agriculture for the South-Eastern district of England. Theobald died on 6 March 1930 in Wye, Kent, and was buried in Wye Churchyard.

Natural history

After the discovery at the end of the 19th century that

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

was transmitted by mosquitoes, the British Museum promoted mosquito taxonomy as a necessary step in the control of mosquitoes. With this support, Theobald wrote ''A

Monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

of the

Culicidae Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning "gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "litt ...

, or Mosquitoes'' (in five volumes, 1901–1910) for the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created to deal with the colonial affairs of British North America but required also to oversee the increasing number of col ...

and the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. He also wrote sixty scientific papers on mosquitoes and was the first to

describe Shneur Hasofer is a Hasidic musician known as DeScribe. Hasofer's musical style has been characterized as "Hasidic hip-hop," "Hasidic rap" and "Hasidic R&B". Background Hasofer was born to a Chabad Hasidic family in Melbourne, Australia. Hasof ...

numerous

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of insects. In addition, his research contributed to the fields of tropical medicine and

. Theobold bequeathed his

Aphididae The Aphididae are a very large insect family in the aphid superfamily ( Aphidoidea), of the order Hemiptera. These insects suck the sap from plant leaves. Several thousand species are placed in this family, many of which are considered plant/cro ...

collection and

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to the British Museum. The journal ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

'' notes that he had formed "probably the finest collection in existence of insects of economic importance, showing the various stages and damage done by these pests". File:Mosquitoes described by F. V. Theobald (1905) 01.jpg, alt=Coloured drawing of a mosquito displayed as a scientific specimen, '' Cellia pharoensis'' File:Mosquitoes described by F. V. Theobald (1905) 02.jpg, alt=Coloured drawing of a mosquito displayed as a scientific specimen, '' Eretmapodites quinquevittatus'' File:Mosquitoes described by F. V. Theobald (1905) 04.jpg, alt=Coloured drawing of two mosquitoes displayed as scientific specimens, '' Mansonia africana'', '' Deinocerites cancer'' File:Mosquitoes described by F. V. Theobald (1905) 03.jpg, alt=Coloured drawing of two mosquitoes displayed as scientific specimens, ''Melanoconion atratus'', ''Grabhamia jamaicensis'' File:Mosquitos described by F.V. Theobald (1905).jpg, alt=Coloured drawing of two mosquitoes displayed as scientific specimens, '' Toxorhynchites brevipalpis,'' '' Mucidus africanus'' File:Mosquitoes described by F. V. Theobald (1905) 05.jpg, alt=Coloured drawing of three mosquitoes displayed as scientific specimens, '' Uranotaenia geometrica'', '' Phoniomyia longirostris'', ''Joblotia nivipes''

Societies and honours

Theobald's obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' notes that "he was the member of many

, foreign as well as English". He was a fellow of the

Royal Entomological Society 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 London ...

from 1886 to 1901, and again from 1910, council member and fellow of the Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from 1907, and an "early president" of the Society of Economic Biologists. He was awarded honorary membership of: * Société Nationale d'Acclimatation de France, from which he received the Grande Médaille

Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (16 December 1805 – 10 November 1861) was a French zoologist and an authority on deviation from normal structure. In 1854 he coined the term ''éthologie'' (ethology). Biography He was born in Paris, the son ...

, *Société pour l'Étude Agriculturale Zoologique de Bordeaux, * Société de Médecine Tropicale de Paris, *

Société de Pathologie Exotique Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the se ...

, Paris, * Association of Economic Entomologists of the United States, and *

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

, from which he received the

in 1926. Theobald was made an Officer of the Imperial Ottoman

by the Egyptian Government in 1907 and was awarded the

by the

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) is a higher education institution with degree awarding powers and registered charity located in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Established in 1898, it was the first institution in the world dedicated ...

in 1913.

Works

*Braun, M. G. C. C., P. Falcke, L. Sambon and F. V. Theobald (1908). ''The Animal Parasites of Man; A Handbook for Students and Medical Men''. New York. Wood. *Fantham, H. B., J. W. W. Stephens and F. V. Theobald (1920). ''The Animal Parasites of Man''. New York. W. Wood. *Massee, G. and F. V. Theobald (1908). ''The Enemies of the Rose''. England. The Society. *Pickering, S. U. and F. V. Theobald (1908). ''Fruit Trees and their Natural Enemies: with a Spraying Calendar''. London. Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent. *Theobald, F. V. (1892). ''An Account of British Flies (Diptera)''. London. E. Stock. *Theobald, F. V. (1896). ''The Parasitic Diseases of Poultry''. London. Gurney. *Theobald, F. V. (1900). ''Report of the Proceedings of the Expedition for the Study of the Causes of Malaria: Despatched to Sierra Leone, West Africa, under the leadership of Major Ronald Ross (Late Indian Medical Service), by the Liverpool School of Tropical Diseases, 29 July 1899''. London. HM Stationery Office. *Theobald, F. V. (1901,1903,1907,1910). ''A Monograph of the Culicidae, or Mosquitoes. Mainly compiled from the collections received at the British Museum from various parts of the world in connection with the investigation into the cause of malaria conducted by the Colonial office and the Royal Society''. Vol. 1–5, Plates. London. Printed by order of the Trustees. *Theobald, F. V. (1903). "Note on the Genus "Stegomyia" (Theobald), and its Distribution." In, Manson, P. ''The Relation of the Panama Canal to the Introduction of Yellow Fever into Asia: A paper read before the Epidemiological Society of London''. London. Bedford Press. pp. 34–40. *Theobald, F. V. (1903). "Report on a Collection of Mosquitoes or Culicidae, etc, From Gambia, and Descriptions of New Species." In, Dutton, J. E. ''Report of the Malaria Expedition to the Gambia 1902, of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Medical Parasitology''. London. Longmans, Green for the University Press of Liverpool. pp. i–xi. *Theobald, F. V. (1903). ''First Report on Economic Zoology''. London. British Museum (Natural History). *Theobald, F. V. (1903). "Two New Australian Culicids." ''The Entomologist''. 36: 154–157. *Theobald, F. V. (1903). "Two New Jamaican Culicidae." ''The Entomologist''. 36: 281–283. *Theobald, F. V. (1904). "The Mosquitoes of Egypt, the Sudan and Abyssinia." ''Report of the Wellcome Tropical Research Laboratories at the Gordon Memorial College, Khartoum''. 1: 62–83. *Theobald, F. V. (1904). "New Culicidae from the Federated Malay States." ''The Entomologist''. 37: 12–15, 36–39, 77–78, 111–113, 163–165, 211–213, 236–239. *Theobald, F. V. (1904). ''Second Report on Economic Zoology''. London. British Museum (Natural History). *Theobald, F. V. (1905). "Diptera. Fam. Culicidae." ''Genera Insectorum''. 26: 1–50. *Theobald, F. V. (1905). ''The Mosquitoes or Culicidae of Jamaica''. Kingston, Institute of Jamaica. *Theobald, F. V. (1905). "New Culicidae from the West Coast of Africa." ''The Entomologist''. 38: 154–158. *Theobald, F. V. (1905). "A New Ficalbia from West Africa." ''The Annals and Magazine of Natural History; Zoology, Botany, and Geology''. 15: 199–200. *Theobald, F. V. (1905). "A New Genus of Culicidae." ''The Entomologist''. 38: 52–56. *Theobald, F. V. (1905). "Some New Mosquitoes from Ceylon." ''The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society''. 16: 237–250. *Theobald, F. V. (1906). ''Some Notable Instances of the Distribution of Injurious Insects by Artificial Means''. London. *Theobald, F. V. (1908). "First Report on the Collection of Culicidae and Corethridae in the Indian Museum, Calcutta, with Descriptions of New Genera and Species." ''Records of the Indian Museum''. 2: 287–302. *Theobald, F. V. (1908). "Notes on Some Transvaal Mosquitoes, Including Two New Species and a New Variety." ''The Entomologist''. 41: 106–109. *Theobald, F. V. (1909). ''The Insect and Other Allied Pests of Orchard, Bush and Hothouse Fruits and their Prevention and Treatment''. Wye, England. Published by the author. *Theobald, F. V. (1910). "The Culicidae of Fiji, Including Two New Species." ''The Entomologist''. 43: 155–159. *Theobald, F. V. (1910). "Five New Culiciae from Ashanti." ''The Annals and Magazine of Natural History; Zoology, Botany, and Geology''. 5: 373–378. *Theobald, F. V. (1910). "Second Report on the Collection of Culicidae in the Indian Museum, Calcutta, with Descriptions of New Genera and Species." ''Records of the Indian Museum''. 4: 1–33. *Theobald, F. V. (1911). "Culicidae of the R. Zool. Soc. 'Natura Artis Magistra', Amsterdam and description of three new species." ''Tijdschrift voor Entomologie''. 54: 233–240. *Theobald, F. V. (1911). "A New African Corethra." ''The Annals and Magazine of Natural History; Zoology, Botany, and Geology''. 7: 399–400. *Theobald, F.V. (1911). "The Culicidae of the Transvaal." ''First Report of the Director of Veterinary Research''. Pretoria, South Africa: Government Printer and Stationery Office. pp. 232–272. *Theobald, F.V. (1912). "Second Report on the Mosquitoes of the Transvaal." ''Second Report of the Director of Veterinary Research''. Cape Town: Cape Times Limited, Government Printers. pp. 315–342. *Theobald, F. V. (1912). "Three New Culicidae from the Transvaal." ''The Entomologist''. 45: 92–93. *Theobald, F. V. (1913). "Culicidae from New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands." Nova Caledonia. Forschungen in Neu–Caledonien und auf den Loyalty–Inseln. ''Recherches Scientifiques en Nouvelle–Calédonie et aux iles Loyalty''. A. Zoologie. 1: 163–164. *Theobald, F. V. (1913). "First List of Aphides Found with Myrmica." ''The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation''. 25: 48–50. *Theobald, F. V. (1913). "A New Mosquito from Northern China." ''The Entomologist''. 46: 179–180. *Theobald, F. V. (1913)

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''A Text-book of Agricultural Zoology''. Revised, 2nd ed. Edinburgh. W. Blackwood and Sons. *Theobald, F. V. (1914). "African Aphididae." ''Bulletin of Entomological Research''. 4: 313–337. *Theobald, F. V. (1914). "A New Mosquito from Samoa." ''The Entomologist''. 47: 36–37. *Theobald, F. V. (1915). "New Myrmecophilous Aphides." ''The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation''. 27: 52–55. *Theobald, F. V. (1916). "A New Myrmecophilous Aphid from Africa." ''The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation''. 28: 37–37. *Theobald, F. V. and W. McGowan (1916). "Report on the Food Found in the Rook, Starling and Chaffinch." ''Supplement to the Journal of the Board of Agriculture'' (Reports on the Food of the Rook, Starling and Chaffinch). 15: 7–49. *Theobald, F. V. (1923). "New Aphididae Found in Egypt." ''Bulletin de la Société entomologique d'Égypte''. 7: 39–80. *Theobald, F. V. (1926–1929). ''The Plant Lice or Aphididae of Great Britain''. Vol. 1–3. *Theobald, F. V. (1927). "Two New Aphides from Ants' Nests." ''The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation''. 39: 17–18.

Notes

References

External links

Books by Theobold

* ''An account of British flies'' (''Diptera'') (1892) *'' The Parasitic Diseases of Poultry'' (1896) *''A Monograph of the Culicidae of the World'': Vol. I and Plates, Vol. II, Vol. III, Vol. IV, Vol. V (1901–1910) *'' The mosquitoes or Culicidae of Jamaica'' (1909) *'' The Insect and Other Allied Pests of Orchard, Bush and Hothouse Fruits and their Prevention and Treatment'' (1909) * ''A Text-book of Agricultural Zoology'' (1913)