Hamlet Clark (30 March 182310 June 1867) was an English

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

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 ...

specialising in

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

, especially

water beetle A water beetle is a generalized name for any beetle that is adapted to living in water at any point in its life cycle. Most water beetles can only live in fresh water, with a few marine species that live in the intertidal zone or littoral zone. Th ...

s and

leaf beetle The insects of the beetle family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles, and include over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, making up one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle ...

s. Hamlet Clark was born in

Navenby Navenby is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Lying south from Lincoln, England, Lincoln and north-northwest from Sleaford, Navenby had a population of 2,128 in the 2011 census and in March 2 ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

on 30 March 1823. He was the eldest son of Rev. Henry Clark of

Harmston Harmston is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated just west off the A607, and south from the city and county town of Lincoln. It sits on the Lincoln Cliff overlooking the River Wit ...

, Lincolnshire. His first schooling was at the Beverly Grammar School after which he studied with the Rev. Scott who ignited his interest in natural history. Hamlet was a sickly child and avoided strenuous activities. He enrolled at

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

and studied under the coleopterist

Thomas Vernon Wollaston Thomas Vernon Wollaston (9 March 1822 – 4 January 1878) was a prominent English entomologist and malacologist, becoming especially known for his studies of Coleoptera inhabiting several North Atlantic archipelagoes. He was well-placed socially ...

(

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

). Cambridge's tuition in natural history at that time was not of a high standard, but Clark devised his own reading list and purchased specimens from local residents. His interests during that period were birds, spiders, and Lepidoptera. Later on he devoted his time to Coleoptera, in particular the water and leaf beetles. Clark published his first article 'Captures near Towcester' in Ent., 1, 1842, pp. 409–410. He followed up with notes on specimens from Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and at Whittlesea Mere, and in 1855 with 'Synonymic list of the British carnivorous water beetles, together with critical remarks and notices of foreign allied species' (Zoo., 14, pp. 4846–4869). 'A synonymic list of the British species of Philhydrida' appeared the following year in the same journal. He collaborated with John Frederic Dawson on a revision of the classification and taxonomy of the British

Carabidae Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. As of 2015, it is one of the 10 most species-rich animal fami ...

. After this date Clark worked almost exclusively on foreign beetles. A world catalogue of

Phytophaga Phytophaga is a clade of beetles within the infraorder Cucujiformia consisting of the superfamilies Chrysomeloidea and Curculionoidea that are distinctive in the plant-feeding habit combined with the tarsi being pseudotetramerous or cryptopentam ...

, a joint work with

Henry Walter Bates Henry Walter Bates (8 February 1825, in Leicester – 16 February 1892, in London) was an English naturalist and explorer who gave the first scientific account of mimicry in animals. He was most famous for his expedition to the rainforests of ...

, was unfinished at his death, only the first part having been published in 1866. Clark collected extensively throughout Great Britain. In 1856 he joined

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 ...

on a two-month cruise to Spain and Algeria. In December of the same year he accompanied Gray once again on a trip to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Clark was elected as a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

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 ...

in 1850, and of the

Linnean Society of London 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 ...

in 1860.

External links

'Letters Home from Spain, Algeria and Brazil'

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Hamlet 1823 births 1867 deaths English entomologists English coleopterists People from North Kesteven District 19th-century Church of England clergy Fellows of the Royal Entomological Society Fellows of the Linnean Society of London