Henry Tibbats Stainton (13 August 1822 – 2 December 1892) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

. He served as an editor for two popular entomology periodicals of his period, ''The Entomologist's Annual'' and ''The Entomologist's Weekly Intelligencer''.

Biography

Stainton was the son of Henry Stainton, belonging to a wealthy family in Lewisham. After being privately tutored, he went to

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 ...

. He was the author of ''A Manual of British Butterflies and Moths'' (1857–59) and with the German entomologist Philipp Christoph Zeller, a Swiss,

Heinrich Frey Heinrich Frey (June 15, 1822 – January 17, 1890) was a German-born Swiss entomologist who studied Lepidoptera. He was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, and died in Zurich, Switzerland. He is not to be confused with the dipterist Richard K ...

and another Englishman,

John William Douglas John William Douglas (15 November 1814 – 28 July 1905) was an English entomologist, chiefly interested in microlepidoptera. He was popularly known as "Jolly" Douglas for his ability to produce jocular doggerel in the style of Longfellow's ''Hi ...

of ''The Natural History of the Tineina'' (1855–73). He undertook editing William Buckler's and John Hellins' work, following their deaths: ''The Larvae of the British Butterflies and Moths''. He was also a prolific editor of entomological periodicals, including the ''Entomologist's Weekly Intelligencer'' (1856–61) and the ''

Entomologist's Monthly Magazine ''Entomologist's Monthly Magazine'' is a British entomological journal, founded by a staff of five editors – T. Blackburn, H. G. Knaggs, M.D., R. McLachlan, F.L.S., E. C. Rye and H. T. Stainton – and first published in 1864.Wale, Matthew ...

'' (1864 until his death – the magazine continues to be published). Stainton was a very wealthy man and his house in

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

, "Mountsfield", was one of London's more substantial residences set in its own park. Other wealthy entomologists often stayed at Mountsfield when visiting London, notably

Alexander Henry Haliday Alexander Henry Haliday (1806–1870, also known as Enrico Alessandro Haliday, Alexis Heinrich Haliday, or simply Haliday) was an Irish entomologist. He is primarily known for his work on Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Thysanoptera, but worked on ...

and Deiterich Carl August Dohrn. The zoologist

Nicholas Aylward Vigors Nicholas Aylward Vigors (1785 – 26 October 1840) was an Ireland, Irish zoologist and politician. He popularized the classification of birds on the basis of the quinarian system. Early life Vigors was born at Old Leighlin, County Carlow on 17 ...

was a close friend. Such people, sought by the growing number of scientific societies, wielded enormous influence on scientific development. Stainton was a regular visitor to both Haliday's house in Lucca and to Dohrn's in

Stettin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...

. He was a member of both the Entomological Society of London and the

Stettin Entomological Society The Entomological Society of Stettin (german: Entomologischer Verein zu Stettin) or Stettin Entomological Society, based in Stettin (Szczecin), was one of the leading entomological societies of the 19th century. Most German entomologists were membe ...

. Besides this, from 1856, he encouraged interest in entomology among the wider public by holding weekly 'open evenings' at his house. Anyone over the age of 14 could freely visit Mountsfield on such evenings, perhaps to have a specimen identified; to view his collection; use his library; or simply to learn more about entomology from Stainton himself, or other guests who may have been present. The home of his family no longer stands but a Stainton road runs beside Mountsfield Park.

References

External links

Stainton's manuscripts, letters etc in the Natural History Museum, LondonStainton, Henry Tibbats (1822–1892), entomologist
by Yolanda Foote 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 ...

'' *1855-7
BHL
The natural history of the Tineina (with Douglas, J.W., Frey, H. and Zeller, P.C. London, J. Van Voorst *186
BHL
The Tineina of Southern Europe London, J. Van Voorst *187
BHL
'The Tineina of North America'', by (the late) Dr. Brackenridge Clemens. (Being a collected edition of his writings on that group of insects.) With notes by the editor, H.T. Stainton London,J. Van Voorst,1872.

Bibliography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stainton, Henry 1822 births 1892 deaths Alumni of King's College London English entomologists English lepidopterists Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Linnean Society of London 19th-century biologists 19th-century English people