John Walton (23 July 1784,

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...

, Yorkshire- 3 January 1862, Knaresborough) 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 ...

who specialised 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

Curculionidae The Curculionidae are a family of weevils, commonly called snout beetles or true weevils. They are one of the largest animal families, with 6,800 genera and 83,000 species described worldwide. They are the sister group to the family Brentidae. T ...

. His collection is held by the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

John Walton was educated in first in Knaresborough then in London where he studied

Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

at the Mathematical Society of

Spitalfields Spitalfields is a district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road) and includes the locale around Brick Lane, Christ Church, ...

, then applying his science to

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

refining in his uncles refinery based in

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

whom he succeeded in that lucrative business. By then wealthy he retired in 1832 to devote himself to entomology. He corresponded with

Carl Johan Schönherr Carl Johan Schönherr (10 June 1772 – 28 March 1848) was a Swedish entomologist who revised the taxonomy of beetles, including weevils. Born in Stockholm, Schönherr was son of a German immigrant who had established himself as a silk manufact ...

Ernst Friedrich Germar Ernst Friedrich Germar (3 November 1786 – 8 July 1853) was a German professor and director of the Mineralogical Museum at Halle. As well as being a mineralogist he was interested in entomology and particularly in the Coleoptera and Hemiptera. ...

and

Louis Alexandre Auguste Chevrolat Louis Alexandre Auguste Chevrolat was a French entomologist, born 29 March 1799 in Paris and died 16 December 1884 in Paris. In government service in Paris, this amateur entomologist studied mainly beetles and birds. He published nearly 250 note ...

exchanging specimens with all three. He was a fellow of the Entomological Society and the

Linnaean Society 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 ...

Works

partial list *Walton J., 1838. Notes upon the genera ''Sitona'', ''Polydrosus'', ''Phyllobius'', and ''Apion'' ''

Entomological Magazine The ''Entomological Magazine'' is a publication devoted to entomology. The ''Entomological Magazine'' was published between September 1832 and October 1838 by the Society of Entomologists of London. The editor was Edward Newman aided by Franc ...

'', 5: 1–21, 254–257 Walton, J. 1844 Notes on the Synonymy of the Genus ''Apion'', with Descriptions of Five new Species ''

Annals and Magazine of Natural History The ''Journal of Natural History'' is a scientific journal published by Taylor & Francis focusing on entomology and zoology. The journal was established in 1841 under the name ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History'' (''Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.'') a ...

'' Series 1 Volume 13, 1844 - Issue 8 *Walton J., 1856: List of British Curculionidae, with synonyma. Catalogue of British Rhynchophora. 46 pp

References

*Anonym 1863: alton, J.''Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London'', London, pp. XLIV-XLVI *Smith, F. 1862: alton, J.(The) ''Transactions of the Entomological Society of London'', Third Series, Journal of Proceedings, London 1 pp. 125–127 *Walther Horn & Sigmund Schenkling: Index Litteraturae Entomologicae. Serie I: Die Welt-Literatur über die gesamte Entomologie bis inklusive 1863. Berlin 1928. English entomologists 1862 deaths 1784 births Coleopterists {{entomologist-stub