William Weekes Fowler
Encyclopedia
William Weekes Fowler was an English
clergyman and entomologist mainly interested in beetle
s.
, Gloucestershire, Fowler was educated at Rugby School
and at Jesus College, Oxford
. He became a Master at Repton School
in 1873 and was ordained in 1875. In 1880 he became Headmaster of Lincoln
Grammar School. This post was relinquished after twenty years. He was then Rector of Rotherfield Peppard, near Henley
, Oxfordshire, for three years. He died Vicar of St Peters, Earley.
Fowler's other offices were: Canon of Welton Brinkhall at Lincoln (1887), President of the Headmasters Association (1907), Vice President of the Linnean Society (1906–1907), Member of the Scientific Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society
, and Member of the Reading Guardians.
, then Coleoptera. His expertise in this order led to the publication of the first volume of The Coleoptera of the British Islands (1887–1891, 1913) and to his being appointed Secretary of the Royal Entomological Society, a post which he held for ten years, before, in 1901, he was made President. He was also for 38 years on the editorial panel of the Entomologist's Monthly Magazine
.
The Coleoptera lists two more genera
and fifty more species
than appear in H.E. Cox's Handbook, published some thirteen years earlier.
Fowler wrote the introductory volume and account of the Cicindelidae and Paussidae of The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma; a contribution to Wytsman's
Genera Insectorum on the Languriidae; the sections on Homopterous
insects (except the Cicadidae, Fulgoridae, Coccidae and Aleurodidae) for Godman
and Salvin
's Biologia Centrali-Americana; and two Catalogues of the British fauna, compiled with A. Matthews in 1883 and with David Sharp
in 1893. The last is an updated version of Sharp's earlier lists of 1871 and 1883.
Fowler wrote more than 150 short notes for various entomological journals, including a number of obituaries of eminent coleopterists.
, Nottingham
. Other specimens collected by him in Lincolnshire
, Gloucestershire
, Hampshire
, Isle of Wight
and Solway
are to be found in the Hall collection at Oldham
Museum.
Ent., 722, July 1923, p. 170).
'about 1879 Canon Fowler, then a schoolmaster at Repton... developed a purposeful interest in Coleoptera. Realising perhaps that time was not on his side, he established a close contact with the Powers and was thus able to draw extensively on the Doctor's knowledge of our Fauna. For a period Fowler had apartments in the house next door to the Powers as a pied-a-terre for use on his many trips from Lincoln, and this house, no 83 Ashburnham Road, Bedford, was the wartime HQ of the 5th Beds. Battalion of the Home Guards. "And who", asked Miss Power of me on one occasion, "was the young clergyman we always had in the house? My mother said that she thought that he did most of his collecting in my father's cabinets".' (Charles MacKechnie-Jarvis in his 1975 BENHS Presidential Address)
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
clergyman and entomologist mainly interested in beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s.
Biography
Son of the Reverend Hugh Fowler, Vicar of BarnwoodBarnwood
Barnwood, in Gloucestershire, England is situated on the old Roman road that connects the City of Gloucester with Hucclecote, Brockworth and Cirencester....
, Gloucestershire, Fowler was educated at Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
and at Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...
. He became a Master at Repton School
Repton School
Repton School, founded in 1557, is a co-educational English independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the British public school tradition, located in the village of Repton, in Derbyshire, in the Midlands area of England...
in 1873 and was ordained in 1875. In 1880 he became Headmaster of Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
Grammar School. This post was relinquished after twenty years. He was then Rector of Rotherfield Peppard, near Henley
Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...
, Oxfordshire, for three years. He died Vicar of St Peters, Earley.
Fowler's other offices were: Canon of Welton Brinkhall at Lincoln (1887), President of the Headmasters Association (1907), Vice President of the Linnean Society (1906–1907), Member of the Scientific Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
, and Member of the Reading Guardians.
Achievements
Fowler was first interested in LepidopteraLepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
, then Coleoptera. His expertise in this order led to the publication of the first volume of The Coleoptera of the British Islands (1887–1891, 1913) and to his being appointed Secretary of the Royal Entomological Society, a post which he held for ten years, before, in 1901, he was made President. He was also for 38 years on the editorial panel of the Entomologist's Monthly Magazine
Entomologist's Monthly Magazine
The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine is a British entomological journal, first published in 1864. The journal publishes original papers and notes on all orders of insects and terrestrial arthropods from any part of the world, specialising in groups other than Lepidoptera.Although its name would...
.
The Coleoptera lists two more genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
and fifty more species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
than appear in H.E. Cox's Handbook, published some thirteen years earlier.
Fowler wrote the introductory volume and account of the Cicindelidae and Paussidae of The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma; a contribution to Wytsman's
Philogène Auguste Galilée Wytsman
Philogène Auguste Galilée Wytsman was a Belgian ornithologist, entomologist and publisher most noted for his serial publications Genera Avium and Genera Insectorum....
Genera Insectorum on the Languriidae; the sections on Homopterous
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....
insects (except the Cicadidae, Fulgoridae, Coccidae and Aleurodidae) for Godman
Frederick DuCane Godman
Frederick DuCane Godman D.C.L., F.R.S., F.L.S., F.G.S., F.R.G.S., F.E.S., F.Z.S., M.R.I., F.R.H.S., M.B.O.U. was an English lepidopterist, entomologist and ornithologist....
and Salvin
Osbert Salvin
Osbert Salvin FRS was an English naturalist, best known for co-authoring Biologia Centrali-Americana with Frederick DuCane Godman. This was a 52 volume encyclopedia on the natural history of Central America....
's Biologia Centrali-Americana; and two Catalogues of the British fauna, compiled with A. Matthews in 1883 and with David Sharp
David Sharp (entomologist)
David Sharp FRS was an English physician and entomologist who worked mainly on Coleoptera.David Sharp was born at Towcester on 18 October, 1840. Some twelve years later his parents removed to London, where therefore, as a boy he received his education. After attending one or two preparatory...
in 1893. The last is an updated version of Sharp's earlier lists of 1871 and 1883.
Fowler wrote more than 150 short notes for various entomological journals, including a number of obituaries of eminent coleopterists.
Collection
Fowler's collection is in Wollaton HallWollaton Hall
Wollaton Hall is a country house standing on a small but prominent hill in Wollaton, Nottingham, England. Wollaton Park is the area of parkland that the stately house stands in. The house itself is a natural history museum, with other museums in the out-buildings...
, Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
. Other specimens collected by him in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
and Solway
Solway
-Places:New Zealand*Solway, New Zealand, a suburb of MastertonUnited Kingdom*Solway Firth, the inlet between the north west of England and southern Scotland*Solway Moss, lowland peat bog in Cumbria, England, near the Scottish border...
are to be found in the Hall collection at Oldham
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
Museum.
Obituary Quotes
'In his small and apparently delicate frame Fowler held a great store of vitality and an apparently inexhaustible appetite for hard work, notwithstanding which he was by no means a hard taskmaster to those under him, and by his invariably cheerful and amiable disposition never failed to win popularity and esteem from his pupils and associates of every kind. Although possessed of little critical power or gift for origination, he had a taste for the not usually attractive labour of collating and tabulating the records of others' results and a readiness to undertake toil from which other men turned away which led him sometimes into fields for which his qualifications were not apparent. Entomology has reason for gratitude to him for much useful spadework, and, to all who study British Beetles, his principal achievement, the Coleoptera of the British Islands, is the indispensable starting-point for any fresh advance, and is not likely soon to be superseded' (G.J. ArrowGilbert John Arrow
Gilbert John Arrow was an English entomologist.Gilbert was the son of John Garner Arrow of Streatham, London. He initially trained as an architect but took an interest in insects from 1896 during which time he was a Deputy Keeper on the staff of the Natural History Museum in London from 1896 until...
Ent., 722, July 1923, p. 170).
'about 1879 Canon Fowler, then a schoolmaster at Repton... developed a purposeful interest in Coleoptera. Realising perhaps that time was not on his side, he established a close contact with the Powers and was thus able to draw extensively on the Doctor's knowledge of our Fauna. For a period Fowler had apartments in the house next door to the Powers as a pied-a-terre for use on his many trips from Lincoln, and this house, no 83 Ashburnham Road, Bedford, was the wartime HQ of the 5th Beds. Battalion of the Home Guards. "And who", asked Miss Power of me on one occasion, "was the young clergyman we always had in the house? My mother said that she thought that he did most of his collecting in my father's cabinets".' (Charles MacKechnie-Jarvis in his 1975 BENHS Presidential Address)
External links
- Internet Archives Digitised The Coleoptera of the British Islands Three volumes