William Lucas Distant
Encyclopedia
William Lucas Distant was an English
entomologist.
, the son of a whaling captain Alexander Distant. A whaling trip with his father in 1867 (he considered 5 August 1867 as the most eventful day in his life) to the Malay Peninsula
aroused his interest in natural history
, and resulted in the publication of Rhopalocera Malayana (1882–1886), a description of the butterflies of the Malay Peninsula. Much of Distant's early life was spent working in a London tannery, and whilst thus employed he made two long visits to the Transvaal
which resulted firstly in the publication of A Naturalist in the Transvaal (1892). The second visit, of some four years, gave him time to amass a large collection of insects, of which many were described in Insecta Transvaaliensia (1900–1911). In 1890 he married Edith Blanche de Rubain. In 1897 he succeeded James Edmund Harting
as editor of The Zoologist
. From 1899 to 1920 he was employed by the Natural History Museum
, describing many new species found in their collection, and devoting most of his time to the Rhynchota
(true bugs).
His other works included Volume I of the Heteroptera
and part of Volume I of the Homoptera
of the Biologia Centrali-Americanum (1880–1900), and the Hemiptera
volumes of The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma(1902–1918).
Distant's collection of 50,000 specimens was purchased by the Natural History Museum in 1920. He died of cancer at Wanstead.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
entomologist.
Biography
Distant was born in RotherhitheRotherhithe
Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
, the son of a whaling captain Alexander Distant. A whaling trip with his father in 1867 (he considered 5 August 1867 as the most eventful day in his life) to the Malay Peninsula
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...
aroused his interest in natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, and resulted in the publication of Rhopalocera Malayana (1882–1886), a description of the butterflies of the Malay Peninsula. Much of Distant's early life was spent working in a London tannery, and whilst thus employed he made two long visits to the Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
which resulted firstly in the publication of A Naturalist in the Transvaal (1892). The second visit, of some four years, gave him time to amass a large collection of insects, of which many were described in Insecta Transvaaliensia (1900–1911). In 1890 he married Edith Blanche de Rubain. In 1897 he succeeded James Edmund Harting
James Edmund Harting
James Edmund Fotheringham Harting was an English ornithologist and naturalist.-Biography:James Edmund Harting was the eldest son of James Vincent Harting and Alexine Milne Fotheringham. He was educated at Downside Abbey and the University of London and spent much of his youth traveling...
as editor of The Zoologist
The Zoologist
The Zoologist was a monthly natural history journal founded in 1843 by the publisher Edward Newman, published in London. Newman acted as editor until his death in 1876, when he was succeeded by James Edmund Harting and William Lucas Distant .Originating from an enlargement of The Entomologist...
. From 1899 to 1920 he was employed by the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
, describing many new species found in their collection, and devoting most of his time to the Rhynchota
Hemiptera
Hemiptera is an order of insects most often known as the true bugs , comprising around 50,000–80,000 species of cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, shield bugs, and others...
(true bugs).
Heteroptera
Heteroptera is a group of about 40,000 species of insects in the Hemiptera. Sometimes called "true bugs", that name more commonly refers to Hemiptera as a whole, and "typical bugs" might be used as a more unequivocal alternative since among the Hemiptera the heteropterans are most consistently and...
and part of Volume I of the Homoptera
Homoptera
Homoptera is a deprecated suborder of order Hemiptera; recent morphological studies and DNA analysis strongly suggests that the order is paraphyletic. It was therefore split into the suborders Sternorrhyncha, Auchenorrhyncha, and Coleorrhyncha....
of the Biologia Centrali-Americanum (1880–1900), and the Hemiptera
Hemiptera
Hemiptera is an order of insects most often known as the true bugs , comprising around 50,000–80,000 species of cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, shield bugs, and others...
volumes of The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma(1902–1918).
Distant's collection of 50,000 specimens was purchased by the Natural History Museum in 1920. He died of cancer at Wanstead.
Publications
A partial list of works is as follows.- Rhynchota :The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma
- Insecta transvaaliensia : A contribution to the entomology of South Africa
- A naturalist in the Transvaal
- A monograph of oriental Cicadidae
- Rhopalocera Malayana: A description of the butterflies of the Malay Peninsula
- Hemiptera
- Biologia centrali-americana. Insecta. Rhynchota. Hemiptera-Heteroptera
- Biologia centrali-americana
- Rhynchotal notes: Membracidae
- Rhynchota from New Caledonia and the surrounding islands
- A synonymic catalogue of Homoptera
- Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae
- Scientific results of the second Yarkand mission : based on the collections and notes of the late Ferdinand Stoliczka : Rhynchota