Born at Cheltenham, the second- son of J.S.Forbes, a well known railway director. Educated at Winchester and, from 1876, at St. John's College, Cambridge where he took high honours in natural science. He was particularly interested in anatomical studies, especially of birds, and succeeded to the prosectorship of the Zoological Society after the premature death of his friend Professor Garrod. His vacations were devoted to zoological expeditions and included visits to Brazil in 1880, the United States in 1881, and an extended visit to the River Niger in 1882. It was on this last trip that he caught malaria and died. Before commencing his anatomical studies in earnest Forbes was a keen entomologist with particular interests in Coleoptera and Lepidoptera. While still at school at Winchester he published two accounts of local Coleoptera in Report of the Winchester College Natural History Society, 2-3, 1873, pp.11-16; and 3, 1377, pp.115-121) and further notes appeared at this time in other journals including ‘Supposed new Cryptocephalus’ (Ent., 7, 1874, p.23); ‘Cryptocephalus bipustulatus’ (ibid., 112-113); ‘Late appearance of Cetonia aurata’ (EMM., 11, 1874, p.208); ‘Arrested development in Timarcha corriaria and Lagria hirta’ (ibid., p.279); ‘Note on Chrysomela marginate’ (ibid., 12, 1875, p.135); and ‘New species of Anisotoma’ (Trans.ESL., Proc., XXIV, 1875). In 1874/75 Forbes was in Scotland and published a number of notes on the local fauna in Scott.Nat. including ‘Additional localities for Scotch Coleoptera’ (3, 1876, p.316). One further article, of a more general nature, which deserves mention is ‘The Glacial Period and Geographical Distribution’ (Nature, 19, 1879, pp.363-364). Apart from the trips abroad mentioned above Forbes is also recorded to have made various journeys to the Alps. Most of the notes he published as a result of these visits, however, were on Lepidoptera. While at Cambridge Forbes took a prominent part in the local Entomological Society, and it was partly as a result of his efforts in organising field trips, that the fortunes of the Society were revived after a fallow period. There are obituary notices in EMM., 20, 1883, pp.21-22; Proc.ESL., 1883, p.xlii (by J.W.Dunning); Psyche, 4, 1883, p.79; Nature, 28, 1833, p.234; and Zool.Anz., 6, 1883, p.256. (MD 12/02)
Dates
June 1855 - 14 January 1883