William Lucas Distant (12 November 1845

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe ( ) is a district of South London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, with the Isle of Dogs to the ea ...

– 4 February 1922

Wanstead Wanstead () is an area in East London, England, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It borders South Woodford to the north, Redbridge to the east and Manor Park to the south, with Leytonstone and Walthamstow to the west. It is located 8 m ...

) 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 ...

Biography

Early years

Distant was born in Rotherhithe, the son of whaling captain Alexander Distant Rao, B.R. Subba (1998) ''History of Entomology in India''. Institution of Agricultural Technologists, Bangalore. and his wife, Sarah Ann Distant (née Berry). Following his father's death in 1867, a trip to the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

to visit his older brother, also named Alexander and a ship's captain, aroused his interest in

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

, and resulted in the publication of ''Rhopalocera Malayana'' (1882–1886), a description of the butterflies of the

. (He considered 5 August 1867 as the most eventful day in his life).

Career

Much of Distant's early life was spent working in a London

tannery Tanning, or hide tanning, is the process of treating skins and hides of animals to produce leather. A tannery is the place where the skins are processed. Historically, vegetable based tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound derived fr ...

, and while employed there he made two long visits to the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name ''Transvaal''. * South African Republic (1856–1902; ...

. The first resulted in the publication of ''A Naturalist in the Transvaal'' (1892). The second visit, of some four years, gave him time to amass a large collection of insects, of which many were described in ''Insecta Transvaaliensia'' (1900–1911). In 1890 he married Edith Blanche de Rubain. In 1897 he succeeded

James Edmund Harting James Edmund Harting (29 April 1841 – 16 January 1928) was an English ornithologist and naturalist who wrote numerous books and articles in journals, as well as serving as an editor of several British natural history periodicals. Biograp ...

as editor of ''

The Zoologist ''The Zoologist'' was a monthly natural history magazine established in 1843 by Edward Newman and published in London. Newman acted as editor-in-chief until his death in 1876, when he was succeeded, first by James Edmund Harting (1876–1896 ...

''. He was editor for eighteen years, until the end of 1914, and saw "the substitution of the camera for the gun, more especially among ornithologists." The last two volumes of the journal were edited by

Frank Finn Frank Finn FZS, MBOU (1868 – 1 October 1932) was an English ornithologist. Finn was born in Maidstone and educated at Maidstone Grammar School and Brasenose College, Oxford. He went on a collecting expedition to East Africa in 1892, and ...

. At the end of 1916 ''The Zoologist'' amalgamated with '' British Birds'' (founded 1908). See also
title page of vol. 10, issue 8
of ''British Birds''—the first issue with the text "With which is incorporated 'The Zoologist'". From 1899 to 1920 he was employed by the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

, describing many new species found in their collection, and devoting most of his time to the "Rhynchota" (a former grouping within true bugs). Distant00

His other works included Volume I of the

Heteroptera The Heteroptera are a group of about 40,000 species of insects in the order Hemiptera. They are sometimes called "true bugs", though that name more commonly refers to the Hemiptera as a whole. "Typical bugs" might be used as a more unequivocal al ...

and part of Volume I of the

Homoptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising more than 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from to ...

of the ''Biologia Centrali-Americana'' (1880–1900), and the

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising more than 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from ...

volumes of ''

The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma ''The Fauna of British India'' (short title) with long titles including ''The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma'', and ''The Fauna of British India Including the Remainder of the Oriental Region'' is a series of scientific books t ...

'' (1902–1918).

Later life

Distant's collection of 50,000 specimens was purchased by the Natural History Museum in 1920. He died of cancer at Wanstead.

Legacy

Distant is commemorated in the scientific names of more than 15 animal

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

, and well over 100

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

, almost exclusively among

. One lizard is also named after Distant, '' Agama aculeata distanti'' (BOULENGER 1902).

Publications

A partial list of works is as follows. * 1902-1918: ''

.'' (Rhynchota volumes 1–7) * 1900-1911: ''Insecta Transvaaliensia: A Contribution to the Entomology of South Africa.''''Insecta Transvaaliensia'' (1900–1911): ;
pt.4 ''Lepidoptera'' (1903)
in

Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open-access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as a worldwide consortium of natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working ...

.
''A Naturalist in the Transvaal''
ref>
''A Monograph of Oriental Cicadidae''

''Rhopalocera Malayana: A Description of the Butterflies of the Malay Peninsula''''Biologia Centrali-Americana: Insecta Rhynchota Hemiptera-Heteroptera''

''Rhynchotal Notes: Membracidae''

''Rhynchota from New Caledonia and the Surrounding Islands''
in

Fritz Sarasin Fritz Sarasin, full name Karl Friedrich Sarasin (3 December 1859 – 23 March 1942) was a Swiss people, Swiss naturalist. He was a second cousin of Paul Sarasin.Coan E. V., Kabat A. R. & Petit R. E. (15 February 2009)''2,400 years of malacology, ...

and

Jean Roux Jean Roux (March 1876, Geneva – 1 December 1939) was a Swiss herpetologist. He studied at the University of Geneva, completing his doctoral thesis in 1899. His early research involved studies of protozoa, and following post-doctoral work in ...

's ''Nova Caledonia: Forschungen in NeuCalodonien und auf den Loyalty-Inslen – Recherches scientifiques en Nouvelle Calédonie et aux Iles Loyalty''
''A Synonymic Catalogue of Homoptera''
* 1912: ''Homoptera: fam. Cicadidae: subfam. Cicadinae.''''Homoptera'' (1912):
''Scientific Results of the Second Yarkand Mission: Based Upon the Collections and Notes of the Late Ferdinand Stoliczka: Rhynchota''

References

External links

* * *

Archived 14 July 2006. Retrieved 10 December 2017. *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Distant, William Lucas English entomologists English taxonomists 1845 births 1922 deaths Hemipterists Employees of the Natural History Museum, London People from Southwark 19th-century British zoologists 20th-century British zoologists People from Rotherhithe