Born at Ipswich the son of William Dillwyn of Higham Lodge, Walthamstow. Received his early education at a Friends' school at Tottenham. It was here that he met Joseph Woods who was to remain his life-long friend and who accompanied him to Folkestone after leaving school in an attempt to improve his poor health. In 1798 he moved to Dover where he began the botanical studies which were to occupy an important part of his life and which formed the bulk of his publications. In 1802 his father purchased the Cambrian Pottery at Swansea and in the following year Lewis moved there to take charge of it. His botanical studies, and subsequently his studies of shells and insects, were put to good use in the decoration of the porcelain made at the works until 1814 when the production turned to more utilitarian earthenwares. It was while living at Swansea that he produced the work for which he is well known to Coleopterists, the Memoranda relating to Coleopterous Insects found in the neighbourhood of Swansea, 1829. Dillwyn became the Member of Parliament for Glamorganshire in 1832 following periods as a magistrate and as High Sheriff of the county. The Freedom of the Borough of Swansea was presented to him in 1834, and from 1835-1840 he served as Alderman and Mayor. He gave up parliamentary duties in 1837. His work on the Fauna and Flora of the Swansea District, 1848, was produced as a result of his appointment as Vice President of the British Association meeting held in the town in the same year. Shortly after this his health began to fail and he withdrew from outside pursuits. He died at Sketty Hall leaving two sons and two daughters. Dillwyn outlined the extent of his involvement with Coleoptera in the preface to the Memoranda as follows: ‘Without ever having made Entomology a principal study, it was my amusement for several years, when walking in the neighbourhood, to collect Coleopterous Insects, and to make Memoranda of the situations in which they are usually found, and of any circumstance relating to their habits or specific characters that appeared to be worth notice... Anything like a perfect Catalogue I am, however, unable to attempt, for, when these Notes were chiefly made, there were numerous species for which it was impossible to find a name...’ In describing his interest in beetles as merely an 'amusement' Dillwyn seems to have been characteristically depreciatory about his efforts. Apart from its importance as one of the first British local lists of Coleoptera, the Memoranda , which he printed and published privately, runs to 75 pages of detailed information and shows a good knowledge of the contemporary British literature. Dillwyn refers to specimens sent to him by Kirby in February 1805 (p.71) so that his interest must have extended for at least 25 years. Furthermore, he states that he asked William Leach to name 97 species for him in 1819 and that Leach had informed him ‘that forty nine had never been described in any British or Foreign publication, and that twenty were were not to be found either in his own extensive Cabinet or at the British Museum’. In arranging his notes for publication Dillwyn acknowledges the help of his friend J.G.Jeffrys who also ‘added many species’. There is an obituary in Proc.LSL., 1856, p.36, and an account of his life and work in DNB. (MD 6/02)
Dates
1778 - 31 August 1855