John William Douglas (15 November 1814 – 28 July 1905) was an English

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 ...

, chiefly interested in

microlepidoptera Microlepidoptera (micromoths) is an artificial (i.e., unranked and not monophyletic) grouping of moth families, commonly known as the 'smaller moths' (micro, Lepidoptera). These generally have wingspans of under 20 mm, and are thus harder to ...

. He was popularly known as "Jolly" Douglas for his ability to produce jocular doggerel in the style of Longfellow's ''Hiawatha''.

Biography

John William Douglas was born 1814 in

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

. His father came from Edinburgh. In a schoolboy prank gone wrong, a fellow student dropped a match into his pocket which contained crackers resulting in serious injury to his leg. Two years largely confined in bed forced him to take up botanical drawing and when he was able to walk again took up work at Kew as a botanical illustrator. He became interested in insects whilst working at

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

and published many papers and books on entomology. His most important work was ''The Natural History of the Tineina'' with the German

Philipp Christoph Zeller Philipp Christoph Zeller (8 April 1808 – 27 March 1883) was a German entomologist. Zeller was born at Steinheim an der Murr, Württemberg, two miles from Marbach, the birthplace of Schiller. The family moved to Frankfurt (Oder) where Philipp ...

, Englishman

Henry Tibbats Stainton Henry Tibbats Stainton (13 August 1822 – 2 December 1892) was an English entomologist. He served as an editor for two popular entomology periodicals of his period, ''The Entomologist's Annual'' and ''The Entomologist's Weekly Intelligencer''. ...

and a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

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 ...

. The ''Natural History of the Tineina'' appeared in English, French, German and Latin editions. Although his main interest was the Lepidoptera, Douglas was joint author of the work ''British Hemiptera'' Vol.1. Hemiptera-Heteroptera (1865). He was a president of the

Royal Entomological Society 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 London ...

(1860–61) and editor of '' The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine''. Douglas was a keen promoter of entomology, especially among the young. He died in 1905 in Garlesden. The entomologist Edward Newman incorporated into verse, Douglas the wise entomologist who lived in a place called Kingswood near Blackheath Station, in his ''The insect hunters'' (1857).

Works

*'' The World of Insects''. London, 1856. *with John Scott. ''The British Hemiptera''. (Vol. I, Ray. Soc. London, 1865) *with HT Stainton, PC Zeller, JW Douglas and Frey, H ''The Natural History of the Tineina'' 13 volumes, 2000 pages English French, German and Latin editions.(text additions, synonymies and translations by

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 ...

).1855-1873.

Collections

John William Douglas' British Coleoptera and Hemiptera British Macrolepidoptera and Microlepidoptera are in the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

, London.

Notes

References

* Anon. 190
Obituary
''Ent. Rec. J. Var.'' 17: 246 - 248. * Merrifield, F., 190
The President's Address
''Trans. ent. Soc. London'' (Proc.) 1905: LXXXV - LXXXVI. * Newman, E., 1905 ''Entomologist'' 38: 264. * Saunders, E., 1905 ''Ent. monthly Mag.'' 41: 221 - 222. *Dale, C. W., 1905 ''Ent. monthly Mag.'' 42: 16.

External links

Gaedike, R.; Groll, E. K. & Taeger, A. 2012: Bibliography of the entomological literature from the beginning until 1863 : online database - version 1.0 - Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, John William 1814 births 1905 deaths People from Putney English lepidopterists