William Lucas Distant (12 November 1845 Rotherhithe – 4 February 1922

Wanstead Wanstead () is a town in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge, London, Redbridge to the east and Forest Gate to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is ...

) 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 ...

Biography

Early years

Distant was born in Rotherhithe, the son of whaling captain Alexander Distant Rao, B.R. Subba (1998) ''History of Entomology in India''. Institution of Agricultural Technologists, Bangalore. and his wife, Sarah Ann Distant (née Berry). Following his father's death in 1867, a trip to the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...

to visit his older brother, also named Alexander and a ship's captain, aroused his interest in natural history, and resulted in the publication of ''Rhopalocera Malayana'' (1882–1886), a description of the butterflies of the

. (He considered 5 August 1867 as the most eventful day in his life).

Career

Much of Distant's early life was spent working in a London tannery, and while employed there he made two long visits to the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

. The first resulted in the publication of ''A Naturalist in the Transvaal'' (1892). The second visit, of some four years, gave him time to amass a large collection of insects, of which many were described in ''Insecta Transvaaliensia'' (1900–1911). In 1890 he married Edith Blanche de Rubain. In 1897 he succeeded

James Edmund Harting James Edmund Harting (29 April 1841 – 16 January 1928) was an English ornithologist and naturalist who wrote numerous books and articles in journals apart from serving as an editor for several British natural history periodicals. Biograph ...

as editor of '' The Zoologist''. He was editor for eighteen years, until the end of 1914, and saw "the substitution of the camera for the gun, more especially among ornithologists." The last two volumes of the journal were edited by

Frank Finn Frank Finn FZS, MBOU (1868 – 1 October 1932) was an English ornithologist. Finn was born in Maidstone and educated at Maidstone Grammar School and Brasenose College, Oxford. He went on a collecting expedition to East Africa in 1892, and ...

. At the end of 1916 ''The Zoologist'' amalgated with '' British Birds'' (founded 1908). See also
title page of vol. 10, issue 8
of ''British Birds''—the first issue with the text "With which is incorporated 'The Zoologist'". From 1899 to 1920 he was employed by the Natural History Museum, describing many new species found in their collection, and devoting most of his time to the "Rhynchota" (a former grouping within true bugs). Distant00

His other works included Volume I of the

Heteroptera The Heteroptera are a group of about 40,000 species of insects in the order Hemiptera. They are sometimes called "true bugs", though that name more commonly refers to the Hemiptera as a whole. "Typical bugs" might be used as a more unequivocal al ...

and part of Volume I of the Homoptera of the ''Biologia Centrali-Americana'' (1880–1900), and the

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, Reduviidae, assassin bugs, Cimex, bed bugs, and shield bugs. ...

volumes of '' The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma'' (1902–1918).

Later life

Distant's collection of 50,000 specimens was purchased by the Natural History Museum in 1920. He died of cancer at Wanstead.

Legacy

Distant is commemorated in the scientific names of more than 15 animal

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

, and well over 100 species, almost exclusively among

Publications

A partial list of works is as follows. * 1902-1918: '' The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma.'' (Rhynchota volumes 1–7) * 1900-1911: ''Insecta Transvaaliensia: A Contribution to the Entomology of South Africa.''''Insecta Transvaaliensia'' (1900–1911): ;
pt.4 ''Lepidoptera'' (1903)
in

Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as worldwide consortiumof natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working toge ...

.
''A Naturalist in the Transvaal''
ref>
''A Monograph of Oriental Cicadidae''

''Rhopalocera Malayana: A Description of the Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula''
*''Hemiptera''
''Biologia Centrali-Americana: Insecta Rhynchota Hemiptera-Heteroptera''
*''Biologia Centrali-Americana''
''Rhynchotal Motes: Membracidae''"Rhynchota from New Caledonia and the Surrounding Islands"
in

Fritz Sarasin Fritz Sarasin, full name Karl Friedrich Sarasin (3 December 1859 – 23 March 1942) was a Swiss naturalist. He was a second cousin of Paul Sarasin.Coan E. V., Kabat A. R. & Petit R. E. (15 February 2009)''2,400 years of malacology, 6th ed.'', ...

and

Jean Roux Jean Roux (March 1876, Geneva – 1 December 1939) was a Swiss herpetologist. He studied at the University of Geneva, completing his doctoral thesis in 1899. His early research involved studies of protozoa, and following post-doctoral work in ...

's ''Nova Caledonia: Forschungen in NeuCalodonien und auf den Loyalty-Inslen – Recherches scientifiques en Nouvelle Calédonie et aux Iles Loyalty''
''A Synonymic Catalogue of Homoptera''
* 1912: ''Homoptera : fam. Cicadidae : subfam. Cicadinae.''''Homoptera'' (1912):
''Scientific Results of the Second Yarkand Mission: Based Upon the Collections and Notes of the Late Ferdinand Stoliczka: Rhynchota''

References

External links

* * *

Archived 14 July 2006. Retrieved 10 December 2017. *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Distant, William Lucas English entomologists English taxonomists 1845 births 1922 deaths Hemipterists Employees of the Natural History Museum, London People from Southwark 19th-century British zoologists 20th-century British zoologists People from Rotherhithe