William Spence (c.1783 – 6 January 1860) was a British

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

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 ...

. Spence was born in

Bishop Burton Bishop Burton is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies on the A1079 road approximately to the west of the market town of Beverley. According to the 2011 UK census, Bishop Burton parish had a population ...

in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

, the oldest of four children of farmer Robert Spence. He was apprenticed to Russian merchants and shipowners Carhill, Greenwood & Co. but little else is known about his early life except that at the age of ten he was in the care of a clergyman who taught him botany. He married Elizabeth Blundell in Hull on 30 June 1804 and very soon supported her brother Henry to set up the highly successful oil and colour company Blundell Spence. He was the father of artist and art dealer

William Blundell Spence William Blundell Spence (13 January 1814 – 23 January 1900) was an English painter and art dealer. Born in Drypool, Yorkshire, to noted entomologist William Spence and his wife Elizabeth Blundell, he spent the years 1826-1832 travelling abroad ...

. He became interested in entomology when he was 22 and immediately began a correspondence with leading entomologist William Kirby. Together they wrote
Introduction to Entomology
', published in four volumes between 1815 and 1826, the first popular book on entomology in English. Spence also published some 20 notes on entomology. In 1822, he also published ''Tracts on Political Economy Viz. 1. Britain Independent of Commerce; 2. Agriculture the Source of Wealth; 3. The Objections Against the Corn Bill Refuted; 4. Speech on the East India Trade. With Prefatory Remarks on the Causes and Cure of Our Present Distresses as Originating from Neglect of Principles Laid Down in These Works'' (London: Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1822). In 1833 he was one of the founders of the

Society of Entomologists of London The Society of Entomologists of London was one of a series of brief-lived entomological societies based in London. The members met to exhibit, identify and exchange, sell or purchase insects which were sometimes very expensive as were books. En ...

, becoming its president in 1847. He was made an 'Honorary English Member' of the Entomological Society at the same time as Kirby was made Honorary Life President. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in April 1834. He was the first editor of a Hull newspaper, the ''Hull Rockingham''. There is a bust of him by

Marochetti Baron Pietro Carlo Giovanni Battista Marochetti (14 January 1805 – 29 December 1867) was an Italian-born French sculptor who worked in France, Italy and Britain. He completed many public sculptures, often in a neo-classical style, plus re ...

in the Hull museum.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spence, William 1780s births People from Bishop Burton 1860 deaths English entomologists Fellows of the Royal Society Presidents of the Royal Entomological Society English economists 19th-century biologists 19th-century English people 19th-century British scientists