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Index of first names

JW Douglas   

John William Douglas (15 November 1814 – 28 July 1905) was an English entomologist, chiefly interested in microlepidoptera. He was known as Jolly Douglas.

John William Douglas, the son of an expatriate Scot from Edinburgh (Mother's maiden name Eustace), was born 1814 in Putney. He became interested in insects whilst working at Kew Gardens and published many papers and books on entomology(1). His most important work was The Natural History of the Tineinae with the German Philipp Christoph Zeller, Englishman Henry Tibbats Stainton and a Swiss, Heinrich Frey . The Natural History of the Tineinae appeared in English, French, German and Latin editions. Although his main interest was the Lepidoptera,Douglas was joint author of the work British Hemiptera Vol.1. Hemiptera-Heteroptera (1865). He was a one-time president of the Royal Entomological Society and editor of The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine. Douglas was a keen promoter of entomology, especially among the young.

For most of his adult life, he was employed in the Customs House, rising to a senior position. At one point, he was sent on an inspection tour of European vineyards by the then Prime minister, Glasdstone. On his return, Gladstone thanked him personally and gave him a £100 Trteasury grant. He retired aged 70.

John married twice, Alison Hume and Charlotte (Unknown)
Children by Alison Hume were Charles Dohrn Douglas; Henry Stainton Napier Douglas; William David Douglas; Pauline Zeller Douglas; Laura Ada Douglas and 1 other.

He died in 1905 in Harlesden.

Works:
The World of Insects. London, 1856.
with John Scott. The British Hemiptera. (Vol. I, Ray. Soc. London, 1865)
with HT Stainton, PC Zeller, JW Douglas and Frey, H The Natural History of the Tineina 13 volumes, 2000 pages English French, German and Latin editions.(text additions, synonymies and translations by Alexander Henry Haliday).1855-1873

Collections:
John William Douglas’ British Coleoptera and Hemiptera British Macrolepidoptera and Microlepidoptera are in the Natural History Museum, London.

Notes:
1. Aged 15 he was was a victim of a schoolboy prank in which a lighted match had been placed in his pockets, which was full of 'crackers'. These exploded causing  severe damage to his leg resulting in him spending the next two years in bed. During this time he developed an interest in botanical drawing which led to his placement at Kew.
2. Charles Dohrn Douglas registered a number of patents for locks, including some for railway carriage doors. He also appears to have been an enameller in Port Dundas, Glasgow prior to November 1882 in the firm Charles Douglas & Company, Enamellers and Tabletop Manufacturrs.
3.  Henry Stainton Napier Douglas was presumably named after JWD's co-author.




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Last modified: Thursday, 22 February 2024