Kenneth Gloyne Blair (22 December 1882 – 11 December 1952) was an English entomologist and

coleopterist Coleopterology (from Coleoptera and Greek , ''-logia'') is the scientific study of beetles, a branch of entomology. Practitioners are termed coleopterists and form groups of amateurs and professionals for business and pleasure. Among these is ...

. He was 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 Londo ...

in 1940 and 1941 and has two portraits in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Early life

He was born in 1882 at Nottingham to William Nisbet Blair and Annie Elizabeth Gloyne and educated, in London, at Highgate School and Birkbeck College.

Career

In 1910 he joined 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 ...

as an assistant and became deputy keeper of entomology in 1932. He received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

from the

University of London 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 ...

in 1936 and was appointed president of the Royal Entomological Society in 1940 and 1941. Dr Blair retired to Freshwater,

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

, in 1943 where he discovered three moths which bear his name. He published a number of papers on Coleoptera and Lepidoptera including lists of beetles and moths for the Isles of Scilly which greatly added to the knowledge of the natural history of the islands. The three moths which bear his name are, # Blair's mocha (''Cyclophora puppillaria'') – a rare immigrant to Britain, Blair found the moth on the Isle of Wight in 1946 and it was thought to be a first for Britain. There are two specimens in the Cockayne Collection (Natural History Museum) with the label ″Scilly Isles. E. D. Wheeler″ which were wrongly identified as the false mocha (''Cyclophora porata''), then known as ''Ephyra porata'' and purchased by the museum in 1925. # Blair's shoulder-knot (''Lithophane leautieri'') – first recorded in Britain, by Blair, in 1951 and has now spread north into Scotland and Northern Ireland. # Blair's wainscot – first discovered in 1945, at Freshwater Marsh where it was recorded annually until 1951–52, when the marsh was drained, cut and burned and never seen there again. Five individuals (suspected immigrants) were record in southern England between 1952 and 1996 and since October, 1996 several populations have been recorded on Dorset rivers. ;Publications * Blair, K G (1925). "The Lepidoptera of the Isles of Scilly". ''Entomologist''. 58: 3–10;38. * Blair, K G (1931). "The beetles of the Scilly Islands". ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London''. 4: 1211–1258.

World War I

Blair enlisted in 1914 and served in France with the Seaforth Highlanders. He was invalided twice before being discharged in 1917.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Kenneth 1882 births 1952 deaths People educated at Highgate School Alumni of Birkbeck, University of London English entomologists English coleopterists Fellows of the Royal Entomological Society Seaforth Highlanders soldiers People from Nottingham 20th-century British zoologists