William John Macleay
William John Macleay (born June 13, 1820 in Wick , Scotland , † December 7, 1891 in New South Wales ) was a British-Australian politician, herpetologist , ichthyologist and entomologist .
Life
Macleay attended the Edinburgh Academy from 1834 to 1836 and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh. In 1839, after the death of his widowed mother , he went to Australia ( New South Wales ) with his cousin, William Sharp Macleay , where his father Alexander Macleay already had an influential position. He farmed land there and was elected to the legislative assembly in 1855, where he was until 1874. In 1857 he married and moved to Sydney.
He collected insects and founded a local entomological society in 1862, in which he also published. After the death of his cousin William Sharp Macleay, he managed his insect collection (it was destined for the university by will) and expanded it into a zoological collection, for example during a collecting trip to New Guinea in 1875. In 1874 he was one of the founders and first president of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. He bequeathed many books to her while she was still alive (but they were destroyed in a fire), built her a house in Elizabeth Bay and bequeathed a large sum of money to her after his death. The zoological collection went to the University of Sydney (Macleay Museum).
In 1889 he was ennobled.
Fonts
- Descriptive Catalog of Australian Fishes, Sydney, 1881 (Supplement 1884)
- Census of Australian Snakes, 1884
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Macleay, William John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Australian politician and entomologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 13, 1820 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wick , Scotland |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 7, 1891 |
| Place of death | New South Wales |