John Curtis (entomologist)
John Curtis (born September 3, 1791 in Norwich , † October 6, 1862 in London ) was a British entomologist and illustrator .
John Curtis learned copperplate engraving in the workshop of his father Charles Curtis . At the age of 16, he began training with a local law firm , devoting his spare time to studying and drawing insects . As his insect collection grew , he came up with the idea of making a living with it and went to London , where he probably became the first entomologist.
His greatest achievement was certainly the ongoing work British Entomology - being illustrations and descriptions of the genera of insects found in Great Britain and Ireland , which is considered to be one of the best works on the subject of the 19th century. It was published monthly from 1824 to 1839 as a subscription . Each edition contained four stitches with two pages of text describing them. The complete work consists of 16 volumes dealing with 769 insects.
In old age, Curtis suffered from dwindling eyesight and became totally blind in late 1856. Many years after his death, the collection of original prints was sold. The feared splitting up of the collection did not take place because Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, acquired the entire collection. This was later bequeathed to the Natural History Museum , where it is still located today.
Curtis was friends with the Irish entomologist Alexander Henry Haliday and the London entomologist Francis Walker .
Fonts
- 1837: Second edition of A guide to the arrangement of British insects being a catalog of all the named species hitherto discovered in Great Britain and Ireland published. Six pages of introduction, followed by 282 columns with insect names, with two columns on each side. This is followed by an index of the genera. This work is attributed to John Curtis but was actually co-written by James Charles Dale , Francis Walker and Alexander Henry Haliday; Haliday and Walker wrote most of the section on Diptera and Parasitic Hymenoptera . The list contains 1500 genus and 15,000 species names. No distinction is made between Britain and Ireland.
- 1860: Farm Insects being the natural history and economy of the insects injurious to the field crops of Great Britain and Ireland with suggestions for their destruction Glasgow, Blackie.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Curtis, John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British entomologist and illustrator |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 3, 1791 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Norwich |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 6, 1862 |
| Place of death | London |