Biographical dictionary
The Biographical Dictionary of British Coleopterists is compiled and maintained by Michael Darby. The Dictionary can be accessed below, and see also the additional information provide by Michael:
Michael would be pleased to hear from anyone wishing to make corrections or alterations to the Dictionary, which will be fully acknowledged. Email Michael Darby or write to Michael at 33 Bedwin Street, SALISBURY, Wiltshire, SP1 3UT.
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Name |
Dates | Biography | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ROBSON, George | Leicestershire naturalist who published records of 40 water beetles in Midland Naturalist, 2, 1879, pp.57-60. ‘Hunting the beetles, under the invigorating influences of fresh air and sunshine’ wrote Robson, ‘was all pleasure.’ Though he found the Haliplids difficult when ‘the real work began when I got home’. In the first issue of the same journal F.T. Mott in an article on Artisan Naturalists (1, 1878, pp. 310-311) described Robson as ‘a Leicester stocking-maker...who has found means for self-cultivation while bringing up a large family on the earnings of his frame. There are probably not a dozen men in Leicester of all classes who know as much about the Natural History of their district as he does...’ (quoted by Lott, 2009 p.13). Robson donated 92 water beetles to the Leicester Museum on 30 June 1877 and a collection of Staphylinidae in May 1879. (MD 11/09) | ||
| ROEBUCK, A. | Entomologist at the Agricultural College at Sutton Bonington, Leicestershire, who is mentioned by Lott (2009) as a collector of beetles in the county between 1938-1944. He was a member of the biology section of the Leicestershire Literary and Philosophical Society and published two notes in the EMM: ‘Beetles in a church’, 74, 1938, p.209 and ‘Some notes on Cryptohynus quadripustulatus F. on grass fields in the Midlands’ 81, 1945, p.8 with L.Broadbent). of beetles found on land broken for agricultural purposes' to the Lincolnshire list. There is correspondence with C.J.Wainwright in the RESL (Pedersen (2002) p. 131. (MD 11/04, 11/09) | ||
| ROEBUCK, A. | In his Presidential Address to the Lincolnshire Naturalists Union in 1955, E.C.Riggall (see above) mentions Roebuck as an economic entomologist who contributed ‘extensive records of beetles found on land broken for agricultural purposes’ to the Lincolnshire list. (MD 11/04) | ||
| ROGERS, H. | The HDO purchased Coleoptera collected by Rogers in Angola from W.C.Hewitson for 17s 6d in October 1873 (Smith (1986), pp. 144-45). (MD 11/04) | ||
| ROGERSON, W. | Published ‘On the Glow Worm’ in Philos. Mag., 58, 1821, p.53. (MD 11/04) | ||
| ROPE | Edward Donovan (1792) records a Mr Rope as the first discoverer of Curculio didymus. (MD 11/04) | ||
| ROSENBERG, William Frederick Henry | 1868 – 1957 | Gave and sold insects to the HDO including a collection of Coleoptera from British East Africa and Ecuador (c.80 specimens given in 1903) and other Coleoptera illustrating mimicry (sold 1913) (Smith (1986) p.145). There is an obituary in Ent., 90, 1951, p.108. (MD 11/04) | |
| ROSS, F.W.L. | Published ‘Dytiscus marginalis’ in Zool., 3, 1845, p.1156. (MD 11/04) | ||
| ROUTH, C. | Worked in the Hoddesdon and Hertford areas of Hertfordshire in the 1940s and collected beetles there some of which are in the D.G.Hall collection in the North Hertfordshire Museum. (Information from Trevor James). He is mentioned in Gimingham (1955). (MD 11/04) | ||
| ROUTLEDGE, George Bell | 1864 – 1934 | Primarily a Lepidopterist, but was also interested in Coleoptera. Day (1909), 1, p.127 mentions him as a worker on the county fauna, and he published notes on Cumberland beetles in the EMM., eg. ‘Saperda scalaris in Cumberland’ (13, 1902, p.287).His collection is in the Tullie House Museum, Carlisle given by his sister-in-law Mrs St John Hankin (28-1935). At the time of presentation it consisted of 120 drawers of Lepidoptera and 40 drawers of beetles, which, together with some other material of other families amounted, to 100,000 specimens. Gilbert (1977) lists 5 obituaries of which that in N.West Nat., 10, pp.145-148 (which I have not seen) is the most comprehensive, and Hancock and Pettit (1981) refer to a note by Markham in Museums Journal, 39, 1948, p.75. (MD 11/04) |