William Elford Leach

William Elford Leach

William Elford Leach FRS (2 February 179026 August 1836) was an English zoologist and marine biologist.

Leach was born in Plymouth, the son of a solicitor. At the age of twelve he went to school in Exeter, studying anatomy and chemistry. By this time he was already collecting marine samples from Plymouth Sound and along the Devon coast. At seventeen he began studying medicine at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, finishing his qualification at the University of Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews.

In 1813 Leach returned to his zoological interests and was employed as assistant librarian in the Zoological Department at the British Museum. He set himself to sorting out the collections, many of which had been neglected since they had been left to the museum by Hans Sloane. During his time there he was made assistant keeper of the natural history department and became an expert on crustaceans and mollusks. He also worked on insects, mammals and birds.

Leach's nomenclature was a little eccentric - he named twenty-seven species after his friend John Cranch, who had collected the species in Africa and later died on HMS "Congo". In 1818 he named nine genera after Caroline or anagrams of that name, possibly after his mistress.

In 1821 he suffered a nervous breakdown due to overwork and resigned from the museum in March 1822. His elder sister took him to continental Europe to convalesce, and they travelled through France, Italy and Greece. He died of cholera in the Palazzo San Sebastiano, near Tortona, north of Genoa.

The Leach's Storm-petrel was named after him by Coenraad Jacob Temminck in 1820, without him being aware that it had previously been described by Vieillot. A specimen of this bird had been purchased by Leach on behalf of the British Museum for £5 15s in the sale of the collection of William Bullock in 1819. At the same sale he also bought a Great Auk and an egg for just over £16.

The Blue-winged Kookaburra "Dacelo leachii" was also named for him.

Bibliography

Leach's written works during his time at the British Museum include the following:
* "Zoological Miscellany" (1814-1817)
* "Monograph on the British Crabs, Lobsters, Prawns and other Crustacea with pendunculated eyes" (1815-1817)
* "Systematic catalogue of the Specimens of the Indigenous Mammalia and Birds that are preserved at the British Museum" (1816)
* "Synopsis of the Mollusca of Great Britain" (circulated 1820, but not published until 1852).

References

* Barbara and Richard Mearns - "Biographies for Birdwatchers" ISBN 0-12-487422-3


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • William Elford Leach — (* 2 de febrero de 1790–26 de agosto de 1836) fue un zoólogo y biólogo marino inglés, miembro de la Royal Society (FRS). Leach nació en Plymouth, hijo de un abogado. A la edad de doce años fue a la escuela en Exeter, para estudiar anatomía y… …   Wikipedia Español

  • William Elford Leach — (* 2. Februar 1790 in Plymouth; † 26. August 1836 im Palazzo San Sebastiano bei Tortona) war ein britischer Zoologe und Meeresbiologe. Im Alter von zwölf Jahren ging er nach Exeter in die Schule, um Anatomie und Chemie zu studieren. Schon zu… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Elford Leach — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Leach. William Elford Leach est un zoologiste britannique, né le 2 février 1790 à Plymouth et mort le 26 août 1836 près de Tortona en Italie. Biographie Fils de notaire, il fait ses études à Exeter, notamment… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • William Elford Leach — Уильям Элфорд Лич (англ. William Elford Leach) (2 февраля 1790, Плимут  26 августа 1836, Италия)  английский зоолог и морской биолог. Уильям Элфорд Лич родился в Плимуте в семье адвоката. В возрасте двенадцати лет поступил в школу в Эксетере, где …   Википедия

  • William Leach — William Elford Leach, FRS, (* 2. Februar 1790 in Plymouth; † 26. August 1836 im Palazzo San Sebastiano bei Tortona) war ein britischer Zoologe und Meeresbiologe. Im Alter von zwölf Jahren ging er nach Exeter in die Schule, um Anatomie und Chemie… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Leach's Storm Petrel — Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) …   Wikipedia

  • Leach — may refer to:* Leach, Oklahoma in the United States * Leach Highway * Leach orchid * Leach, Cambodia * a phenotype caused by a mutation in the gene encoding glycophorin C * LEACH (Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy) is a routing protocol in …   Wikipedia

  • Leach — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Buddy Leach (* 1934), US amerikanischer Politiker Carlton Leach (* 1959), englischer Schriftsteller und ehemaliger Hooligan Daniel Leach (* 1986), australischer Fußballspieler Dave Leach, britischer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William John Swainson — FLS, FRS (8 October 1789 – 6 December 1855), was an English ornithologist, malacologist, conchologist, entomologist and artist. Life Swainson was born in Dover Place, St. Mary Newington, London, the eldest son of John Timothy Swainson, an… …   Wikipedia

  • William Swainson — Nacimiento …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”