William Elford Leach ( February 2, 1790 , Plymouth - August 26, 1836 , Italy ) - English zoologist and marine biologist .
| William Alford Leach | |
|---|---|
| English William Elford Leach | |
| Date of Birth | February 2, 1790 |
| Place of Birth | Plymouth (England) |
| Date of death | August 26, 1836 (aged 46) |
| Place of death | |
| A country | Great Britain |
| Scientific field | zoology , marine biology |
| Place of work | |
| Alma mater | |
| Awards and prizes | member of the Royal Society of London |
| Taxonomy of wildlife | |
|---|---|
The researcher who described a number of zoological taxa . The names of these taxa (to indicate authorship) are accompanied by the designation " Leach " . |
Biography
William Alford Leach was born in Plymouth into a lawyer's family. At the age of twelve, he entered a school in Exeter , where he studied anatomy and chemistry . At that time, he was already collecting a collection of marine organisms in the Strait and on the coasts of Devonshire . At seventeen, he began to study medicine at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London . He continued his education at the University of Edinburgh and St. Andrew's University.
In 1813 , Leach returned to zoology and began working as an assistant librarian in the Zoological Department of the British Museum . He took up the analysis of collections, many of which (for example, the collections of Hans Sloan ) were abandoned. Leach was appointed assistant keeper of the natural history department. He became a specialist in crustaceans and mollusks . He also worked with insects , mammals and birds .
Lich's nomenclature was quite unusual - he named twenty-seven species in the name of his friend John Crunch , who worked in Africa and later died aboard the Congo. In 1818, Leach named nine genera by the name of Carolina (directly or anagram), probably in honor of his beloved.
In 1821 , Leach, overworked, suffered a nervous breakdown and in March 1822 was forced to leave the museum. His older sister took him to the continent so that he could improve his shaky health. They traveled to France , Italy , Greece .
Lich died of cholera in the Palazzo of St. Sebastian near Genoa .
Many species of animals are named after Lich.
Printed Works from the British Museum
- Zoological Miscellany (1814-1817)
- Monograph on the British Crabs, Lobsters, Prawns and other Crustacea with pendunculated eyes (1815-1817)
- Systematic catalog of the specimens of the indigenous Mammalia and birds in the British Museum (1816) (1882 edition)
- Synopsis of the Mollusca of Great Britain (circulated 1820, but not published until 1852).
Literature
- Barbara and Richard Mearns - Biographies for Birdwatchers ISBN 0-12-487422-3
See also
- List of generally accepted abbreviations of the names of zoologists used to indicate authorship of the scientific names of animal taxa