Lewis (coleopterist)
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George Lewis (1839–1926), F.L.S., F.E.S., was an English
entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
. He was a specialist in
Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...
. Lewis was born on 5 August 1839, the second son of the Rev. R. Cr. Lewis, first Vicar of St. John's, Blackheath, S.E. He was educated at the Blackheath Proprietary School. In 1862 he went to China for the tea trade and returned to England twenty years later, after also spending periods in Japan and Sri Lanka. He married Miss Julia Hunter, of Iiiuer Park Road, Wimbledon Common. Soon after his marriage in 1867, he spent several years traveling and collecting beetles in
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, and he visited that country again in 1880. He also collected in Ceylon and Algiers. An ardent entomologist from boyhood, Lewis made important collections of beetles in the East, most of which were acquired by the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
. He authored numerous taxa, including 750 species in the family
Histeridae Histeridae is a family (biology), family of beetles commonly known as clown beetles or hister beetles. There are more than 410 genera and 4,800 described species in Histeridae worldwide, with more than 500 species in North America. They can be id ...
(a tiny fraction being liste
here
and had been for many years the recognized authority on the beetles of the family
Histeridae Histeridae is a family (biology), family of beetles commonly known as clown beetles or hister beetles. There are more than 410 genera and 4,800 described species in Histeridae worldwide, with more than 500 species in North America. They can be id ...
, of which he bequeathed to the
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
a magnificent collection of over 12,000 specimens, including the types of 110 fewer than 700 species described by himself. Much of the collection formed during his first visit to Japan was destroyed, although many new species were described by the late H. M. Bates. Lewis died at Folkestone on 5 September 1926.


References

*"Obituary Notice," Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, Vol. 139, No. 1 (1926):89-90.
wikispecies
Partial bibliography English coleopterists 1839 births 1926 deaths Fellows of the Royal Entomological Society People from British Ceylon English expatriates in China English expatriates in Japan {{UK-entomologist-stub