Born in London. His systematic work was entirely confined to the Hemiptera, but he did write a popular work Elements of Entomology, 1857, which has chapters on beetles. As the editor of Popular Science Review and ANMNH he also promoted Coleoptera, particularly in the latter as the translator and compiler of abstracts of important foreign publications. Dallas also translated Von Siebold's Parthenogenesis from the German in 1858 when it was looked upon not just as physically impossible but also as vastly heretical, and Fritz Muller's Fur Darwin. Another very important service which Dallas provided as someone interested in the literature was to compile the whole of the Insecta part of the Zoological Record, with which he was associated from its commencement in 1864, for five years, and partially for a sixth year. Dallas was made Curator of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society in 1858, a post which he held until 1868 when he was made Assistant Secretary to the Geological Society in London. This is presumably the same W.Dallas who gave beetles from Colney Hatch, Kentish Town and Brighton to the NHM in 1847 (1847.63). Gilbert (1977) p.83 lists seven obituaries and other notices. (MD 5/02)
Dates
31 January 1824 - 28 May 1890