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William Sharp Macleay or McLeay (21 July 1792 – 26 January 1865) was a British civil servant 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 ...
. He was a prominent promoter of the Quinarian system of classification. After graduating, he worked for the British embassy in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, following his interest in natural history at the same time, publishing essays on insects and corresponding with
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
. Macleay moved to
Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
, Cuba, where he was, in turn, commissioner of arbitration, commissary judge, and then judge. Retiring from this work, he emigrated to Australia, where he continued to collect insects and studied marine natural history.


Early life

Macleay was born in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
, eldest son of Alexander Macleay, who named him for his then business partner, fellow wine merchant William Sharp. He attended
Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Head ...
and
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
, graduating with honours in 1814. He was then appointed attaché to the British embassy at
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, and secretary to the board for liquidating British claims on the French government, and following his father in taking an interest in natural history, became friendly with
Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in nat ...
, and other celebrated men of science.


Early scientific career

Macleay's principal work was ''Horae Entomologicae; or, Essays on the Annulose Animals'', parts 1-2 (1819–1821). The first part of ''Horae Entomologicae'' included a re-examination of Linnaeus' genus ''Scarabaeus'' (12th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', 1767) within the taxonomic context of Pierre Andre Latreille's "''Lamellicornes''" becoming the first monographer of what today is the family
Scarabaeidae The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change in recent years. Several sub ...
. He also published ''Annulosa Javanica or an Attempt to illustrate the Natural Affinities and Analogies of the Insects collected in Java by T. Horsfield, no. 1'' (London, 1825). Other minor publications on insects include ''Remarks on the devastation occasioned by Hylobius abietis in fir plantations'' in the '' Zoological Journal'' and several notes in the ''Transactions 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 London ...
''. Macleay sent many insects to Frederick William Hope, which are now preserved in the Hope Department of Entomology at Oxford University. He was also a correspondent of
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
, though he disagreed fervently with the latter's theories of evolution. Macleay was the originator of the short-lived
Quinarian system The quinarian system was a method of zoological classification which was popular in the mid 19th century, especially among British naturalists. It was largely developed by the entomologist William Sharp Macleay in 1819. The system was further pro ...
of classification, which is used extensively in his ''Horae Entomologicae''. This was an attempt to classify animals into related groups and was put forward in Part 2 of his book ''Horae Entomologicae'' (1821). According to his reasoning, each major group of animals could be subdivided into 5 subgroups, and each sub-group could be further divided into 5. MacLeay was one of the first systematists to note the difference between similarity due to true relation, called affinity, and similarity due to function, called analogy. Major groups united by affinities could also be related to other groups or subgroups by overlaps known as osculations, based on analogy. As precursors of the concepts of homology and
homoplasy Homoplasy, in biology and phylogenetics, is the term used to describe a feature that has been gained or lost independently in separate lineages over the course of evolution. This is different from homology, which is the term used to characterize ...
, these proposals were taken very seriously at the time, and Charles Darwin, who got to know Macleay after he returned from the ''Beagle'' voyage, tried to fit Quinarian ideas into his evolutionary schemes up to about 1845 (see "The Development of Darwin's Theory" by Dov Ospovat, 1981). The ideas were also taken up by William Swainson,
Nicholas Aylward Vigors Nicholas Aylward Vigors (1785 – 26 October 1840) was an 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 1785 as fi ...
, and others.


Havana

In 1825, Macleay was appointed British commissioner of arbitration to the joint British and Spanish Court of Commission in
Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
, Cuba, for the
abolition of the slave trade Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...
; he became commissary judge in 1830, and then was appointed judge to the Mixed Tribunal of Justice in 1833. He retired in 1836 (at the age of 44) on a pension of £900. Throughout these years, he also maintained a correspondence with his sister Frances (Fanny) Leonora Macleay (1793–1836). These letters typically convey a harsh, even severe impression of his character. Macleay had maintained his scientific work whilst in Havana and was elected to the
Linnean 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 coll ...
, of which his father had been Secretary (1798–1825), and the Zoological Society. He was elected president of the natural history section of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...
.


Australia

Macleay emigrated to Australia in 1839, living briefly at the Colonial Secretary's House in Macquarie Place with his parents before moving in September of that year to the family's still unfinished
Elizabeth Bay House Elizabeth Bay House is a heritage-listed Colonial Regency style house and now a museum and grotto, located at 7 Onslow Avenue in the inner eastern Sydney suburb of Elizabeth Bay in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Au ...
. He took possession of the estate in 1845, having taken on his father Alexander's considerable debts and the mortgages on the property (he formally inherited it in 1848). In an attempt to raise funds, he also sold furniture he had acquired in London on behalf of his father, but for which he had never been reimbursed. He did not, however, complete the house, and it remained without its planned colonnade. The house became a meeting place for a small circle of intellectuals and naturalists, though Macleay was not known for being actively sociable. Thomas Mitchell Jnr satirised the house and owner: 'Bleak House blears blindly o'er Eliza's Bay, chill as its owner's hospitality' (Carlin, p. 45). Macleay was interested in the natural history of Australia, the marine fauna around
Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea ( ...
in particular. Later, he collected a large number of Australian insects; on his death, these were bequeathed to his cousin
William John Macleay Sir William John Macleay (13 June 1820 – 7 December 1891) was a Scottish-Australian politician, naturalist, zoologist, and herpetologist. Early life Macleay was born at Wick, Caithness, Scotland, second son of Kenneth Macleay of Keiss and ...
, whose interest in natural history he encouraged and who in 1888 transferred them to the Macleay Museum,
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...
, for which act he was knighted. He also encouraged the scientific interests of his brother George Macleay. Macleay lived alone at Elizabeth Bay House until his death on 26 January 1865.


See also


References


Bibliography

* *A.Y. Swainston (1985). William Sharp Macleay, ''Linnean'', 1 (5) : 11–18. * *David S. Macmillan,
Macleay, William Sharp (1792 - 1865)
, ''
Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia ...
'', Volume 2, MUP, 1967, pp. 182–183 *Carlin, Scott. (2000) ''Elizabeth Bay House: A History and a Guide''. Sydney, Historic Houses Trust. Additional resources listed by the ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'': *P. P. King, ''Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia'', vols 1–2 (Lond, 1827) *Linnean Society of New South Wales, ''Macleay Memorial Volume'', ed J. J. Fletcher (Syd, 1893) *''Calcutta Journal of Natural History'', July 1841 *''Annals of Natural History'', 8 (1841), 9 (1842) *''Tasmanian Journal of Natural Science'', 3 (1849) *Macleay papers (University of Sydney Archives)


External links

*Watercolour and pencil drawings of insects, caterpillars and spiders from Cuba, attributed to W. S. Macleay,
State Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establish ...

PXE 682/ff. 95-146
*William Sharp Macleay, account between, and James Macarthur, for passages to Sydney for Macleay and two cousins in 'Royal George',
State Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establish ...

A 2922/Vol. 26/pp.159-160Macleay, William Sharp (1792-1865)
National Library of Australia, ''Trove, People and Organisation'' record for William Sharp Macleay
About the Macleay MuseumElizabeth Bay House guidebook online version
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macleay, William Sharp 1792 births 1865 deaths 19th-century British zoologists British entomologists British taxonomists British carcinologists British lepidopterists Australian carcinologists Coleopterists Australian people of Scottish descent