George Henry Verrall (7 February 1848 – 16 September 1911) was a British

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

official,

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 ...

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician.

Horse racing

Verrall was born in

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. Following education at Lewes Grammar School he became secretary to his elder brother, John Frederick Verrall. John Verrall was a horse-racing official, being clerk of the course at many of the country's biggest meetings. When John died in 1877, George succeeded him. He moved to

Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Located (14 miles) west of Bury St Edmunds and (14 miles) northeast of Cambridge. It is considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred hor ...

, the centre of the horse-breeding industry, in 1878.

Entomology

Verrall had a keen interest in natural history, particularly entomology. He joined the Entomological Society in 1866, was honorary secretary from 1872–1874 and president from 1899–1900. Verrall was one of the most influential British dipterists and worked extensively on several families with his nephew

James Edward Collin James Edward Collin (16 March 1876, Kirtling – 16 September 1968) was an English entomologist who specialised in Diptera. He was the author of ''Empididae''. ''British Flies'', Volume 6. University Press, Cambridge (1961). This was the third v ...

, (1876–1968). Verrall purchased the collections of several European dipterists:

Ferdinand Kowarz Ferdinand Kowarz (23 February 1838, Planá – 22 September 1914, Františkovy Lázně), was a Bohemian-Austrian entomologist who described many new species of Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from th ...

(1838–1914), which contained many types of

Hermann Loew Friedrich Hermann Loew (19 July 1807 – 21 April 1879) was a German entomologist who specialised in the study of Diptera, an order of insects including flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges. He described many world species and was the first specia ...

(1807–1878);

Jacques-Marie-Frangile Bigot Jacques Marie Frangile Bigot (1818–1893) was a French naturalist and entomologist most noted for his studies of Diptera. Bigot was born in Paris, France, where he lived all his life, though he had a small house in Quincy-sous-Sénart, Essonne. H ...

and Pierre-Justin-Marie Macquart (1778–1855). These, together with the flies (Between them Verrall and Collin described some 900

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 Diptera) collected by Collin and Verrall himself are in the

Hope Entomological Collections The Oxford University Museum of Natural History, sometimes known simply as the Oxford University Museum or OUMNH, is a museum displaying many of the University of Oxford's natural history specimens, located on Parks Road in Oxford, England. It ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. He published two books on the subject: *''Platypezidae, Pipunculidae and Syrphidae of Great Britain''. - ''British flies'' (1901) *''Stratiomyidae and succeeding families of the Diptera Brachycera of Great Britain''- ''British flies'' (1909)

The Verrall Association of Entomologists

The Verrall Association of Entomologists continues to honour the tradition of an annual supper of entomologists: begun in 1887 by G.H. Verrall as the Annual Entomological Club Supper. The supper enables amateur and professional entomologists to meet once a year at a social gathering as mutual workers in their special branch of science, to exchange ideas, make new friends and meet old ones.

Botany

His interest in botany and conserving wildlife led to Verrall purchasing tracts of

Wicken Fen Wicken Fen is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Wicken in Cambridgeshire. It is also a National Nature Reserve, and a Nature Conservation Review site. It is protected by international designations as a Ramsar wetland si ...

for their preservation. He was able to rediscover a number of species of flora that had been declared extinct sixty years earlier by

Cardale Babington Charles Cardale Babington (23 November 1808 – 22 July 1895) was an English botanist and archaeologist. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1851. Babington was the son of Joseph Babington and Cathérine née Whitter, and a nephew ...

, Professor of Botany at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Politics

Politically, Verrall was a strong Unionist, and in 1894 he became chairman of the Newmarket and District Conservative Association. He was a member of

Cambridgeshire County Council Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council of Cambridgeshire, England. The council consists of 61 councillors, representing 59 electoral divisions. The council is based at New Shire Hall at Alconbury Weald, near Huntingdon. It is a mem ...

, Newmarket Urban District Council and Newmarket

Board of Guardians Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the poor ...

. He was in charge of the 1895 campaign that led to Colonel

Harry McCalmont Colonel Harry Leslie Blundell McCalmont, CB (30 May 1861 – 8 December 1902) was a British army officer, race-horse owner, yachtsman and Conservative party politician. Life He was the son of Hugh Barklie Blundell McCalmont, and was educated ...

winning the parliamentary seat of Newmarket from the Liberals. When McCalmont died in 1902, the Liberal

Charles Day Rose Sir Charles Day Rose, 1st Baronet (23 August 1847 – 20 April 1913) was a British-Canadian businessman, race horse breeder, yachtsman, and Liberal politician. Member of parliament for Newmarket and President of the Royal Aero Club, he has b ...

regained the seat. In January 1910 he stood against Rose in the general election, becoming Newmarket's

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. His period in the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

was only brief, as Rose regained the seat for the Liberals in the ensuing election in December of the same year.

Death

Verrall, who had been in ill health for some time, had become exhausted by the December 1910 election campaign. After returning from a long holiday abroad, he died of "

dropsy Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...

" soon after returning to Newmarket in September 1911, aged 64.

References and sources

* Evenhuis, N. L. 1997: ''Litteratura taxonomica dipterorum (1758–1930).'' Volume 1 (A-K); Volume 2 (L-Z). - Leiden, Backhuys Publishers 1; 2 VII+1-426; 427–871 786–788, Portr. + Schr.verz. * Pont, A. C.''The type-material of Diptera (Insecta) described by G.H. Verrall and J.E. Collin''. Oxford University Museum Publication 3: x + 223 pp. Clarendon Press, Oxford. (1995).

External links

BBC4 Natural History Heroes Audio biography on George Verrall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verrall, George Henry Dipterists English entomologists 1848 births 1911 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of Cambridgeshire County Council UK MPs 1910 People from Lewes Deaths from edema 19th-century English politicians 20th-century English politicians