Born at Bradley, near Huddersfield. Moved to Bradford in 1875 where he spent the rest of his life. Shortly after taking up residence there he was instrumental in setting up the Bradford Naturalists' Society with John Firth and one or two other friends. Carter was the leading spirit in the Society until his death serving at different times as Secretary and President. He was also a very active member of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union, and was at one time President of the entomological section.
George Porritt who wrote Carter’s obituary in EMM, 57, 1921, 67-68, records that his initial interest in entomology was with Lepidoptera; his first publication however, was 'Carabus nitens on Greetland and Rombalds Moors', in the Naturalist (N.S.) 3, 1877-78, 41. A series of notes on other orders mainly Lepidoptera followed until 1897 when he wrote on ‘Carabus arvensis near Bradford’ in the same periodical. This is probably the ‘later’ period of interest in Coleoptera to which Porritt refers noting that Carter did some of his best work in this order. Like his earlier notes, Carter's later publications were mainly on ground beetles, although he did contribute general pieces on Coleoptera and Lepidoptera in the Bradford area in eg. Bradford Science Journal, 2, 1910, 347-348. There are various records of Carter's captures in the VCH of Yorkshire. These include Hymenoptera, Neuroptera and Orthoptera in which he also took an interest. Further information appears in the natural History column he wrote in the Bradford Weekly Telegraph for twenty years.
Apart from the obituary already mentioned there is another in Ent. News, 32, 1921,192. FRES from 1900. (MD 1/O2)