Benjamin Arthur Bensley (1875–1934) was a Canadian mammologist. He was born in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, Ontario to Robert Daniel and Caroline Vandeleur Bensley. He was best known for his work on

marsupial Marsupials are a diverse group of mammals belonging to the infraclass Marsupialia. They are natively found in Australasia, Wallacea, and the Americas. One of marsupials' unique features is their reproductive strategy: the young are born in a r ...

s and a standard text ''Practical Anatomy of the Rabbit''. Bensley headed the department of biology at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

after graduating from the same institution and completing his doctorate at the

University of Columbia Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhattan, it ...

. He spent about two years in London, from 1901, studying marsupials at the British Museum. In 1903 he returned to the University of Toronto as a lecturer and in 1914 was made head of the Biology Department. He was the first director of the Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology, appointed on its founding in October 1913. He died on January 20, 1934, at his home in Toronto. He was survived by his wife, Ruth Horton, and his son, Dr. Edward Bensley.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bensley, Benjamin Arthur 1875 births 1934 deaths Canadian mammalogists