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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GRAHAM, Edward G. | Published 'Captures [of Coleoptera] near Preston' in Weekly Entomologist, 1, 1862, 119, and 'Relaxing Coleoptera' in Naturalist, 1, 1865, 111. M.Denton Ground Beetles in the Yorkshire Museum, 1993, p.7 lists Graham as one of the collectors who supplied specimens to H. Willoughby Ellis. (MD 1/03) | ||
| GRAHAM, N.C. | Published a number of notes about insects in Ent. between 1878 amd 1881. These included 'Gnorimus variabilis' (12, 1879, pp.20-21) and 'Prionus coriarius at Richmond Park' (13, 1880, p.21). (MD 1/03) | ||
| GRANT, Frederick Thomas | 21 August 1870 - 27 August 1859 | Born at Maidstone, Kent. After leaving school was articled to Messers Ruck and Smith, architects and surveyors. Became involved in particular with local government work and, at the early age of twenty nine, was appointed Borough Engineer and Surveyor at Gravesend, a position he held for thirty eight years, before his retirement in 1938. He was a Rotarian and President at one time of the local Historical, Literary and Scientific Society. As a boy Grant was interested in the Lepidoptera but his friendship with a group of enthusiastic local entomologists which included G.E.Frisby, a Coleopterist and Hymenopterist, encouraged him to take up these groups. His work on Coleoptera subsequently led him to make several interesting captures including Catopidius depresss Murray, on an office window in Gravesend, which K.G.Blair introduced on his behalf to the British list (EMM., 78, 1942, p.172). Other interesting captures were Conopalpus testaceus Ol. at Cobham; Heterostomus villiger Reitter at Ringwood; and Otiorrhynchus porcatus which he took in some numbers in his garden. T.R.E.Southwood, who wrote his obituary in Proc.SLENHS., 1959, pp.xliii-xliv, (with portrait), and who admitted that his 'early footsteps in the 'other orders'' were guided by Grant 'whose knowledge, not only of entomology, but of zoology in general, was wider and deeper than he himself was prepared to admit', wrote of him: 'He was an accurate and precise man in all he did, his collections are models of good mounting and besides full data labels on every specimen, he kept detailed journals. These were arranged both under species and serially, each group of individuals of the same species taken on the same day being alloted a number. His serial journal for Coleoptera contains 7645 entries, which must represent the collection, mounting and identifying of over 10,000 specimens. The first were collected in 1926 and the last, which are perfectly mounted as all the others, in 1950, when he was eighty years of age.' 'Much of his collecting was done in Cobham Park, Kent, often in company with Capt. J.A.Stephens, but like so many entomologists he spent his holidays in localities such as Wicken Fen, the New Forest and the Lake District. He also took numerous specimens as he went about his duties in Gravesend'. Grant's collections were bequeathed to the BENHS. After extraction of 'the material required' (James and Gardner (1973) p.78) the remainder, together with his journals, passed via Southwood to the Imperial College Field Station at Silwood Park. James Hogan informs me that this collection was then acquired by the HDO in late 2002 and that it has now been incorporated into the main British collection. Notebooks and photographs of each of the drawers before incorporation are also in the Department. The collection includes material from G.E.Frisby, T.R.E.Southwood and O.W.Richards. (MD 1/03, 10/03) | |
| GRANT, J.H. | d. 1948 | Not recorded by Gilbert (1977) but there is a brief obituary in Proc.RESL., 12 (C), 1947-48, p.64. He was chiefly associated with the Birmingham area and was Secretary of the Entomological Section of the Birmingham Natural History and Philosophical Society for twelve years. The Lepidoptera are recorded to have been his chief interest 'but he also had a large collection of exotic ... Coleoptera'. His other interests included archaeology and malacology. (MD 1/03) | |
| GRANT, M.H. | Published two notes on beetles in Ent., 21, 1888, p.92: 'Carabus monilis in January' and 'Odontaeus mobilicornis in the Isle of Wight'. (MD 1/03) | ||
| GRAVELY, F. | This name appears on Coleoptera in the collection of the Pusa Institute, Delhi. (MD 1/03) | ||
| GRAY, George Robert | 8 July 1808 - 6 May 1872 | Primarily an Ornithologist but well known to entomologists as one of the Keepers at the Zoological Department at the British Museum (Natural History). His entomological writings were mainly on Lepidoptera but did include one or two notes about exotic beetles including a description of a new species of Goliathus (Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1864, 34. Gray was the brother of J.E.Gray (see below) and a friend of J.G.Children, whose collections he re-arranged. Gilbert (1977) lists seven obituaries and other notices to which may be added that in EMM., 9, 1872-73, pp.23-24. (MD 1/03) | |
| GRAY, John | d.1910 | Published ‘Description of a new Coleopterous insect belonging to the genus Prionus from India’ in Naturalist, 4, 1854, pp.158-59. Also published one or two notes on entomology in Scotland. Mentioned by Murray (1853) p.vii. Mike Dentonn informs me that there are specimens in the Willoughby Ellis collection in York Museum collected by J. Gray which probably refer to this Gray. There is an obituary notice in Glasgow Naturalit, 2, 1910, pp.68-69 which I have not seen. (MD 1/03) | |
| GRAY, John | 1812 - 1881 | A textile manufacturer of Haulgh, Bolton who retired from business in order to take up yachting and eventually died at Claygate, Surrey. It was in Gray’s yacht 'The Miranda' that Hamlet Clark made his voyage to Brazil and in which Wollaston made most of his voyages to the Atlantic Islands. In a brief obituary in EMM., 18, 1878, pp.190-191, the writer notes that it was during these voyages that Gray showed himself 'a most enthusiastic collector and acute observer' of insects. Geoff Hancock, seeking information about Gray in EMM., 112, 1976, 211, noted that a collection of exotic Coleoptera and Hymenoptera made by him in a mahogany twenty drawer cabinet was acquired by Bolton Museum as a purchase from Alderman Smith in 1904. The specimens are marked with a 'G' or 'Gray Colln.' He also notes a reference in Chalmers-Hunt (1976), to an auction of collections including European Coleoptera and a library made by John Gray, formerly of Bolton, at Stevens' Rooms on 22-23 October 1883, part of which was bought by the Museum in St. Petersburgh. FRES from 1850 and one of the original subscribers to the EMM. (MD 1/03) | |
| GRAY, John Edward | 1800 - 7 March 1875 | Brother of George Robert (see above). Not a Coleopterist in particular but as Assistant (1824-1840) and then Keeper (1840- 1874) of the Zoological Department at the British Museum, he was certainly involved not just with the Coleoptera collections but also with many Coleopterists. Gray was born at Walsall, Staffordshire, and intended to make his career in the medical profession. He was befriended at an early age, however, together with J.O.Westwood, by A.H.Haworth. The two 'students' arranged Haworth's collections of books and insects, and perhaps it was this experience that persuaded Gray to give up the medical profession and join the Museum. During the course of his career at the Museum Gray published more than 700 papers on all aspects of natural history but as far as I can ascertain very few were devoted to entomology and only one mentions Coleoptera 'Cicindela sylvatica occurred here [Esher] as early as 13th April this year' (EMM., 9, 1872, p.11) He achieved a good reputation for the many important accessions made to the collections during his time as Keeper, but his obituaries mention that he was very fond of controversy and that this appears to have made him a difficult colleague. Some of his purchases for the Museum were funded from his own pocket. Gray held prominent positions at one time or another with most of the London societies devoted to natural history studies. Gilbert (1977) lists eight obituaries and other notices. (MD 1/03) |