Biographical dictionary
The Biographical Dictionary of British Coleopterists was compiled by the late Michael Darby. The Dictionary can be accessed below, and see also the additional information provide by Michael:
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| Name | Dates | Biography | |
|---|---|---|---|
| COLLINS, C.E. | Norman Joy refers to 'looking over the collection of C.E.Collin' in EMM., 40, 1904, p.14. At that time Collin, who lived at Calcot, near Reading, had recently died. His collection passed to Reading Museum. It includes a specimen of Medon dilutus identified by Joy (Peter Hammond says correctly) but, interestingly, not included by him in his Handbook (Information from John Owen). (MD 3/03) | ||
| COLLINS, G.B. | Published 'Amara monitvega Sturm., some further records' in EMM., 86, 1950, p.206. (MD 3/02) | ||
| COLLINS, J. | A collection of some 70 beetles made by Collins between 1907 and 1937 mainly in Oxfordshire, but also in Cheshire, Berkshire and Cumberland, is in the Sheffield Museum. (I am grateful to Steve Garland for pointing this out to me.) (Is this J.J.Collins perhaps? See below.) (MD 3/02) | ||
| COLLINS, Joseph Joynson | 1865 - 3 April 1942 | Born in Warrington and at the age of thirteen was working as a wire-drawer in a wire rope works. He became interested in Lepidoptera and in 1905 moved to Oxford as a temporary assistant in the Hope Department. Smith,A.Z. (1987) p.30 quotes Collins's letter of appointment dated 30 January 1905: 'to be in the Department & begin work at 7.30 each week-day, having had breakfast before arrival, or taking it during & without interrupting his work. An hour's interval for lunch or dinner... Work resumed in the afternoon...& continued till 5.30 except on Saturdays when there is no work in the afternoon. Nett result 9 hrs per day for 5 days; 6 hrs on Saturday: Total 51 hours per week...'. She also notes that Collins soon came under the influence of J.J.Walker and William Holland who involved him in the study of the Coleoptera on which he subsequently worked until his retirement at the age of 70 in November 1935. Collins' main beetle collection is in the Horniman Museum. It contains about 15,500 specimens in 34 cabinet drawers from England, Scotland and Wales with a few from Ireland. Not all the specimens bear a collector’s label, those that do include the names of J.J.Walker, W. Holland, N. Joy, C.E.Tottenham and H. Donisthorpe. Most of the specimens date from the late 1890s to the mid 1940s (I am grateful to Christine Wildhaber for this information. The Horniman Museum would be pleased to hear from anyone knowing more about the collection). Johnson (2004) p.9 records that there is a collection of c,2,000 specimens in the Manchester Museum (together with collections of other orders). He also records: ‘On Collins’ wishes, his collection was left to Harry Britten who retained specimens of the rarer species, and locally divided the remainder amongst active young entomologists, including Charles F. Griffith, Alan Brindle and others.’ Johnson (2004) p.9 records that there is a collection of c,2,000 specimens in the Manchester Museum (together with collections of other orders). He also records: ‘On Collins’ wishes, his collection was left to Harry Britten who retained specimens of the rarer species, and locally divided the remainder amongst active young entomologists, including Charles F. Griffith, Alan Brindle and others.’Other insect collections including Diptera, Hemiptera and Hymenoptera are housed in the HDO, along with some notebooks and other manuscript material. I have also seen beetles collected by Collins in the general collection at Manchester Museum and in the E.C.Bedwell collection at the Castle Museum, Norwich. Further collections of Diptera, Hymenoptera, etc. are mentioned by Hancock, E.G. and Pettit, C.W. (1981). Pederson lists correspondence with C.J.Wainwright, 1925-1938, in the RESL. Donisthorpe named Oxypoda Collinsi after him. There is an obituary in NWN., 17, 1942, pp.113-114. (MD 3/02) | |
| COLSON, Bruce H. | Oliver Janson states in his manuscript Journal, now in the Cambridge University Zoology Museum, that Colson gave Coleoptera to him in July 1866. | ||
| COLYER, Charles Norman | 2 May 1908 - 15 August 1970 | Well known Dipterist. There are a few beetles collected by him in the N.Hertfordshire Museum at Baldock, ex coll. D.G.Hall. (I am grateful to Trevor James for bringing these to my attention) (MD 3/02) | |
| CONNELL, Ernest B. | Connell's collections in the Sheffield Museum include a few hundred coleoptera from the West Indies, especially Trinidad. He was a Captain. (I am grateful to Steve Garland for this information.) (MD 3/02) | ||
| CONNEY, W.O. | There is a collection in Liverpool Museum bearing this name. Peter Hodge, who determined it, tells me that it includes about 1000 specimens and is housed in 9 home-made, polished wooden boxes. The specimens are dated between 1960-1973 and include examples from other collectors mainly R. Wilding. (MD 3/03) | ||
| CONSTANTINE, Barry | Published 'A review of the superfamilies Dermestoidea and Bostrichoidea and a plea for records', Col., 2(3), 1994, 82. (MD 1/22) |
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| CONSTANTINE, W.L. | Mentioned by Sharpe, W.E.(1908) p.13 as one of the 'students and collectors of Coleoptera belonging perhaps to a somewhat different social order [ie. not working class]... happily still surviving'. Sharp notes that Constantine retained his own collection at this time. He is listed in Ent. Ann., 1857, at 7 St. Andrew Sreet, Blackburn, Lancashire. (MD 3/02) |