George Herbert Carpenter (1865–1939) was a British
naturalist and
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 ...
, born in the
Peckham
Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720.
History
"Peckham" is a Saxon p ...
district of southeast
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in 1865, and died in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
on 22 January 1939.
[Henry R. Addison, Charles H. Oakes, William J. Lawson, and Douglas B. W. Sladen (eds.). 1907. ''Who's Who, An Annual Biographical Dictionary''. London: Adam and Charles Black; New York: The Macmillan Company, Vol. 59, p. 297.][James McGuire & James Quinn (eds.): ''Dictionary of Irish Biography From the Earliest Times to the Year 2002'', Royal Irish Academy, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 2009, pp. 364-365.] His main interests were in the study of
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
arachnids,
zoogeography, and economic zoology.
In addition to numerous contributions to scientific journals and
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
, he authored five books.
[''George Herbert Carpenter, (1865–1939)'', Wikisource, http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author:George_Herbert_Carpenter, last modified on 27 June 2011.]
Education and career
Carpenter was privately educated as a youth, and studied at
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
, earning a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree 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 a
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
degree from
Queen's University Belfast
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[Moffat, 1939.]
His first employment as a naturalist was as a clerk in the
South Kensington Museum
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...
, where he pursued an interest in the
natural history of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
In 1888, he took a position in
Dublin, Ireland
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...
as Assistant Naturalist at the
Museum of Science and Art, Dublin
The National Museum of Ireland ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) is Republic of Ireland, Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural h ...
, devoting the next 16 years to developing the museum's collections on the natural history of Ireland.
He was active in the Dublin Naturalists' Field Club and in 1892 he co-founded the ''
Irish Naturalists' Journal
The ''Irish Naturalists' Journal'' () is a scientific journal covering all aspects of natural history. It has been published since 1925. It was predecessed by ''The Irish Naturalist'' (1892−1924).
References
External links
*''The Irish Na ...
'', for which he was editor until his retirement in 1922.
Publications
Carpenter contributed to a range of scientific journals and to
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
, and wrote five books:
[
* ''Insects: Their Structure & Life, A Primer of Entomology''. London: J. M. Dent, 1899.
* ''Catalogue of the Fishes of New York'' (with Tarleton Hoffman Bean). New York State Museum Bulletin No. 60; Zoology, No. 9. Albany: University of the State of New York, 1903.
]
''The Life-story of Insects''
Cambridge: University press, and G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1913.
* ''Insect Transformation''. London: Methuen, 1921.
* ''The Biology of Insects''. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1928.
Personal
Carpenter was a son of George and Phoebe (née Hooper) Carpenter. In 1891, he married Emma Eason of Dublin, with whom he had two sons.
See also
* :Taxa named by George Herbert Carpenter
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, George Herbert
1865 births
1939 deaths
Entomologists from London
People from Peckham
Alumni of Queen's University Belfast
Alumni of King's College London