JACOBY, Martin

Not British being born in Altona, but included here because he spent all his professional life in this country after first arriving in Manchester with the Halle orchestra at the age of twenty one. Jacoby's interest in music - he subsequently became involved with the Royal Italian Opera and was a much respected violin tutor - ran parallel with his career in entomology. He married in 1869. Jacoby's enthusiasm for insects began at a young age and always concentrated on the Coleoptera, particulalrly the phytophagous beetles, on which he became recognised as the leading authority in this country, if not in Europe. His publications, which began with 'Description of new genera and species of Phytophagous Coleoptera' in Proc. zool. Soc. Lond., 1876, pp.807-817, were numerous: well over 115 articles and books, most describing new genera and species from all over the world. The best known are probably his two volumes in Godman and Salvin's Biologia Centrali-Americana, (6 part I and Supplement part 1 , 1888-1892) and his volume on Chrysomelidae in the FBI series which was published in 1908 after his death. Jacoby appears to have made two collections of beetles one of which passed to M. van de Poll of Haarlem several years before his death (and the other to the NHM?). Insects collected by him are in the HDO (Smith (1986) p.129). These last include 19 specimens of Lepidoptera from Tasmania (1897), two specimens of Nyctelia from Patagonia (1898), syntypes of various species included in material from H.E. and F.W.Andrewes from India, Burma, etc. (1900) and Phytophaga from various localities (1906). Harvey et al (1996) list an alphabetical index to the 'J.S.Baly and M.Jacoby' collection. FES from 1886 and a regular attendant at meetings of this and the Entomological Club, where he played the violin. Gilbert (1977) lists seven obituary and other notices including EMM., 44, 1908, p.45 (by J.J.Walker) and Ent., 42, 1909, pp.32-35 (by G. Jacobson). This last includes a bibliography. (MD 8/03)