William Thompson (2 December 1805 – 17 February 1852) was an Irish

naturalist 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 ...

celebrated for his founding studies of the natural history of Ireland, especially in

ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

and

marine biology Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and ...

. Thompson published numerous notes on the distribution, breeding, eggs, habitat, song, plumage, behaviour, nesting and food of birds. These formed the basis of his four-volume '' The Natural History of Ireland'', and were much used by contemporary and later authors such as Francis Orpen Morris.

Early years

Thompson was born in the booming maritime city of

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Ireland, the eldest son of a

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...

merchant, whose wealth would later permit Thompson to fund his own research without an academic affiliation. Thompson attended the newly formed

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today ...

, where he got a degree in Biological Science. Founded by, amongst others,

John Templeton Sir John Marks Templeton (29 November 1912 – 8 July 2008) was an American-born British investor, banker, fund manager, and philanthropist. In 1954, he entered the mutual fund market and created the Templeton Growth Fund, which averaged gro ...

, the school had a strong natural history section that produced a cohort of prominent naturalists. In 1826 he went on a Grand Tour accompanied by cousin George Langtry, a

Fortwilliam Castle is one of the Electoral wards of Belfast, ten district electoral areas in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Located in the north of the city, the district elects six members to Belfast City Council and contains the wards of Bellevue, Cavehill ...

, Belfast shipowner. They starting in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

then travelled through

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

down the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and on to Rome and

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. They returned via

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, Geneva and Paris. Egeriacaffarella

Thompson's first scientific paper, ''The Birds of the

Copeland Islands The Copeland Islands is a group of three islands in the north Irish Sea, north of Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland, consisting of Lighthouse Island (also known as Old Island), Copeland Island (also known as Big Island) and Mew Island. ...

'', was published in 1827 shortly after he joined the Belfast Natural History Society. In these years he became a member of the Belfast Literary Society.

Personal life

William Thompson was a man of regular habits. For four hours after breakfast he was engaged in scientific research, preparation for the press and correspondence. Exercise for two or three hours followed. The interval between dinner and tea was given to the literature of the day and when the claims of local societies left him free he would retire to the study for two or three additional hours of scientific work. With spring came a visit to London where he enlarged his taste for literature, history, biography and the fine arts as well as science. He also visited most of the scenic parts of England and Scotland. In the summer the seaside with family and then in the Autumn tours with friends, attendance at meetings of the British Association and to shooting quarters in Scotland.

Research

Thompson contributed up-to-date information on the birds of Ireland to

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse. At the 2021 Census, it had a population of 17,193. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire; from 1974 until 2023, ...

's ''The Magazine of Zoology and Botany'', ''The Annals of Natural History'', ''The Magazine of Natural History'', and the ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History'', and prepared the first comprehensive list of Ireland's birds for the 1840 meeting of the

British Association for the Advancement of Science The British Science Association (BSA) is a Charitable organization, charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Scienc ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. Other work, primarily about birds, was published in the ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' and the ''London and Edinburgh Philosophical Journal''. These papers formed the basis of his seminal work—''The Natural History of Ireland''—published in four volumes between 1849 and 1851.

Birds

Thompson either owned or had access to a very comprehensive ornithological library exemplared by the Ornithological Dictionary,

Le Règne Animal ''Le Règne Animal'' () is the most famous work of the French naturalist Georges Cuvier. It sets out to describe the natural structure of the whole of the animal, animal kingdom based on comparative anatomy, and its natural history. Cuvier divid ...

's ''Illustrations of British Ornithology'',

Coenraad Jacob Temminck Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch people, Dutch patrician, Zoology, zoologist and museum director. Biography Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. Fro ...

's ''Manuel d'ornithologie ou Tableau systématique des oiseaux qui se trouvent en Europe'' (Sepps & Dufour, Amsterdam, Paris 1815–40),

William Edward Parry Sir William Edward Parry (19 December 1790 – 8 July 1855) was a Royal Navy officer and explorer best known for his 1819–1820 expedition through the Parry Channel, probably the most successful in the long quest for the Northwest Passa ...

, 1821 ''Journal of a Voyage for the Discovery of a North-West Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific; Performed in the years 1819–'20, in His Majecty's Ships Hecla and Griper ... with an Appendix Containing the Scientific and Other Observations'' London (1821),

William Swainson William Swainson Fellow of the Linnean Society, FLS, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (8 October 1789 – 6 December 1855), was an English ornithologist, Malacology, malacologist, Conchology, conchologist, entomologist and artist. Life Swains ...

and John Richardson, 1831. ''Fauna boreali-Americana: part second, the birds'',

Charles Lucien Bonaparte Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857) was a French naturalist and ornithology, ornithologist, and a nephew of Napoleon. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal ...

's ''Synopsis of the Birds of the United States'',

Peter Simon Pallas Peter Simon Pallas Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS FRSE (22 September 1741 – 8 September 1811) was a Prussia, Prussian zoologist, botanist, Ethnography, ethnographer, Exploration, explorer, Geography, geographer, Geology, geologist, Natura ...

' ''Zoographia Russo-Asiatica''. His other tool was his own and other private

bird collections Bird collections are curated repositories of scientific Biological specimen, specimens consisting of birds and their parts. They are a research resource for ornithology, the science of birds, and for other scientific disciplines in which informa ...

and those of the museums in Belfast and Dublin. The major bird publications are the 1841 ''Report on the fauna of Ireland (Vertebrata)'' for the British Association for the Advancement of Science which is an early

biogeographic Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities often vary in a regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, ...

work contrasting the vertebrates of Britain and Ireland. Thompson notes that with a few exceptions the native birds of Britain as then accepted by

Jardine Jardine is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Al Jardine (born 1942), member of the Beach Boys * Alexander Jardine (British Army officer) (died 1799), Scottish army officer and author * Alexander Jardine (Medal of Honor) (1874– ...

and

are all found in Ireland. and ''The Natural History of Ireland'' is, in the section on birds, a

Monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

with a literary style, sometimes anecdotal giving information on anatomy, plumage, behaviour, nesting and breeding, seasonality and distribution. Thompson documented many rare in Ireland bird species, variously collected by his network of correspondents. Among birds these included the first Irish occurrences of

Bonaparte's Gull Bonaparte's gull (''Chroicocephalus philadelphia'') is a member of the gull family Laridae found mainly in northern North America. At in length, it is one of the smallest species of gull. Its plumage is mainly white with grey upperparts. Durin ...

and

American Bittern The American bittern (''Botaurus lentiginosus'') is a species of wading bird in the heron family. It has a Nearctic distribution, breeding in Canada and the northern and central parts of the United States, and wintering in the U.S. Gulf Coast ...

.He was a sceptical observer writing on the Red Kite 'The name of "Kite" appears commonly in the catalogues of birds given in the Statistical Surveys of the Irish counties, and elsewhere; but, as the larger species of the falconidae are in some places called Kite and Glead, as well as Goshawk or Goose-hawk, there can be no doubt that the buzzard, or some common species, was meant.

Marine biology

In 1834 Thompson began studying the distribution of marine animals in space (depth range) and time (seasonality). His first research was with

Edward Forbes Edward Forbes FRS, FGS (12 February 1815 – 18 November 1854) was a Manx naturalist. In 1846, he proposed that the distributions of montane plants and animals had been compressed downslope, and some oceanic islands connected to the mainland ...

conducting

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...

in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

. Other participants were Robert MacAndrew, John Gwyn Jeffreys, the Yoxford, Suffolk shell collector George Barlee (1794-1861) and his fellow Irishmen Robert Ball, Edmund Getty and George Crawford Hyndman. In 1835 he travelled in France, Switzerland and Germany with Forbes. Then in 1841 he joined Forbes and

Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt (11 May 181112 March 1888) was an English vice-admiral, hydrographer, and geologist. Life Thomas Spratt was born at Woodway House, East Teignmouth, the eldest son of Commander James Spratt (Royal Navy officer), Jam ...

on the ''Beacon'' commanded by Thomas Graves and working in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and Aegean. The expedition lasted eighteen months and conducted more than one hundred dredging operations at depths varying from 1 to 130 fathoms, as well as shore-based studies.Forbes E. (1844). Report on the Mollusca and Radiata of the Aegean sea, and on their distribution, considered as bearing on geology. ''Reports of the British Association for the Advancement of Science'' for 1843. 130-193
online
/ref> Thompson focused on the depth range of algae, his main collection of which is in the

Ulster Museum The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures ...

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...

and consists of five large albumsAlgae collection. Ulster Museum (BEL) catalogue numbers: F7953 — F8151, F8182 — F8393, F8394 — F8595, F8580 — F8847 and F8848 — F8937. containing specimens collected by Thompson himself,

William Henry Harvey William Henry Harvey, FRS FLS (5 February 1811 – 15 May 1866) was an Irish botanist and phycologist who specialised in algae. Biography Harvey was born at Summerville near Limerick, Ireland, in 1811, the youngest of 11 children. His father ...

, Moon, D. Landsborough, Robert Ball,

Thomas Coulter Thomas Coulter (1793–1843), of Dundalk, was an Irish physician, botanist and explorer. He was a member of the Royal Irish Academy, a fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, and founder of that college's herbarium. After completing a medical degre ...

, George Crawford Hyndman, William McCalla and many others. His records are also reported by others such as Gifford (1853):- ''Griffithsia simplicifilum'' from "...Isle of Wight, in August, 1841, by Messers. R.Ball. and W. Thompson." Gifford, I. 1853. ''The Marine Botanist; an Introduction to the Study of the British Sea-weeds;...'' Third edition. Brighton, London. George Dickie's ''Flora of Ulster'' contains records of Thompson's frequent botanical contributions and his Hortus Siccus and he is mentioned in William Baird's ''Natural History of British

Entomostraca Entomostraca is a historical subclass of crustaceans, no longer in technical use. It was originally considered one of the two major lineages of crustaceans (the other being the class Malacostraca), combining all other classes—Branchiopoda, Cep ...

''.

Later years

Thompson corresponded extensively on all aspects of natural history with naturalists in both Britain and Ireland, including with zoologist Thomas Bell who was at the heart of the English scientific establishment and two of the "

Grandee Grandee (; , ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

s" of the Zoological Society,

Nicholas Aylward Vigors Nicholas Aylward Vigors (1785 – 26 October 1840) was an Ireland, Irish zoologist and politician. He popularized the classification of birds on the basis of the quinarian system. Early life Vigors was born at Old Leighlin, County Carlow, in 1 ...

William Ogilby William Ogilby (1805 – 1 September 1873) was an Irish-born zoologist who was at the forefront of classification and naming of animal species in the 1830s and served as Secretary of the Zoological Society of London from 1839 to 1847. He removed ...

. As Thompson's reputation spread, information was passed to him by interested observers all over Ireland. However his health became poor around 1847 or 1848, when he was 42, and he suffered from heart trouble from 1847. In 1852 Thompson died of a heart attack in LondonFairley, J.S. 1975. ''An Irish Beast Book. A Natural History of Ireland's Furred Wildlife.'' Blackstaff Press, Belfast where he had been tended by his friends

William Yarrell William Yarrell (3 June 1784 – 1 September 1856) was an English zoologist, prolific writer, bookseller and naturalist admired by his contemporaries for his precise scientific work. Yarrell is best known as the author of ''A History of Briti ...

, author of ''British Birds'',

Edwin Lankester Edwin Lankester FRS, FRMS, MRCS (23 April 1814 – 30 October 1874) was an English surgeon and naturalist who made a major contribution to the control of cholera in London: he was the first public analyst in England. Life Edwin Lankester ...

, of the

Ray Society The Ray Society is a scientific text publication society that publishes works devoted principally to British flora and fauna. As of 2019, it had published 181 volumes. Its publications are predominantly academic works of interest to naturalists, zo ...

and George Busk. He died unmarried. Excerpts from Thompson's letters and his notes were edited and published as the fourth volume of ''The Natural History of Ireland'', which focused on invertebrates and non-avian vertebrates, by George Dickie,

James Ramsey Garrett James Ramsey Garrett (c. 1817 – 1855) was an Irish ornithologist. James Garrett was a solicitor at 3 Donegall Square East Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the b ...

and

Robert Patterson Robert Patterson (January 12, 1792 – August 7, 1881) was an Irish-born American military officer who served in the United States Army during the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. He was the commander of the Pennsy ...

in 1856, four years after his death.

Works

Partial list from over eighty. A complete list is found in ''The Natural History of Ireland'' (see External Links). *1837 On the Pollan ('' Coregonus pollan'' Thompson) of

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ; ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake on the island of Ireland and in the British Isles. It has a surface area of and is about long and wide. According to Northern Ireland Water, it supplies 4 ...

''Magazine of zoology and botany'' 1:247-25
online
* *1833 on an immature specimen of the Long-tailed Manis ('' Manis tetradactyla'', Linn.) from Sierra Leone. ''

Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London The ''Journal of Zoology'' is a scientific journal concerning zoology, the study of animals. It was founded in 1830 by the Zoological Society of London and is published by Wiley-Blackwell. It carries original research papers, which are targeted t ...

'' II 2
online
*1833 On the Occurrence of the Young of the

Arctic Tern The Arctic tern (''Sterna paradisaea'') is a tern in the family Laridae. This bird has a circumpolar breeding distribution covering the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions of Europe (as far south as Brittany), Asia, and North America (as far south ...

(''Sterna Arctica'', Temm.) in the North of Ireland ''

'' II:33
online
*1833 On the Occurrence of the

Black-headed Gull The black-headed gull (''Chroicocephalus ridibundus'') is a small gull that breeds in much of the Palearctic in Europe and Asia, and also locally in smaller numbers in coastal eastern Canada. Most of the population is migratory and winters fu ...

(''Larus capistratus'', Temm.) in the North of Ireland ''

'' II:33
online
*1834 Notice of the cuckoo ('' Cuculus canorus '' Linn.) ''

'' II:29
online
*1834 Observations of some of native Mammalia, birds and fishes, including additions to the British fauna. List of land and freshwater Mollusca new to Ireland.''Transactions of the Linnean Society of London'' Minute Book Linnean Society 1834 published 183
online
See also ''The London and Edinburgh philosophical magazine and journal of science.'' 5: 29
online
*1835 on the

Teredo navalis ''Teredo navalis'', commonly called the naval shipworm or turu, is a species of saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusc in the family '' Teredinidae''. This species is the type species of the genus '' Teredo''. Like other species in this family ...

and Limnoria terebrans, as at present existing in certain localities on the coasts of the British Islands. ''Edinb. New Phil. J.'' 18: 121–130. *1835 atalogue ofBirds, fishes etc. new to the British and Irish Fauna ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' 3: 77–84. ''

'' II:7
online
*1837 n Vertebratae new to Science to Britain to Ireland etc52-63 ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' 1837:52-6
online
*1838 III Contributions to the Natural History of Ireland No 5 On the Birds of the Order Insessores ''Annals of natural history'' 1:12-2
online
*1838 On the

Snowy Owl The snowy owl (''Bubo scandiacus''), also known as the polar owl, the white owl and the Arctic owl, is a large, white owl of the true owl family. Snowy owls are native to the Arctic regions of both North America and the Palearctic, breeding mo ...

(''Surnia nyctea'' Dum.) ''Annals of natural history'' 1:241-24
online
*1838 On fishes new to Ireland ''Annals of natural history'' 1:348-35
online
*1839 On a new Sub‐genus of Fishes, allied to '' Ophidium'' ''Transactions of the Zoological Society of London'' 1839:207-212 Plate XXXVII
online
*1839 with Robert Patterson On some Snow Crystals observed on 14 January 1838 ''Magazine of Natural History'' 3:107-12
online
*1839 On fishes new to Ireland ''Annals of natural history'' 2:14-2
online
*1840 Note on the occurrence at various times of the

bottle-nosed whale ''Hyperoodon'' (or ''Hyperoödon'') is a genus of beaked whale, containing just two species: the Northern and Southern bottlenose whales. While not in the genus ''Hyperoodon'', Longman's beaked whales are alternatively called tropical bottl ...

(''Hyperoodon butzkoph'', Lancep.) on the coast of Ireland; and its nearly simultaneous appearance on different parts of the British coast in the autumn of 1839. '' Annals of natural history'' 4, 375–38
online
*1839 On fishes; containing a notice of one species new to the British fauna and of others to the Irish fauna ''Annals of natural history'' 2:266-27
online
*1839 On the breeding of the

Woodcock The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of sandpipers in the genus ''Scolopax''. The genus name is Latin for a snipe or woodcock, and until around 1800 was used to refer to a variety of waders. The English name ...

(''Scolopax rusticola'' in Ireland ''Annals of natural history'' 2:337-44
online
*1839 Observations on several British Fishes including the Description of a new Species ''Annals of natural history'' 2:402-42
online
*1840 Additions to the fauna of Ireland. ''Annals of natural history'' 5, 6–14
online
*1840 Additions to the fauna of Ireland. ''Annals of natural history'' 5: 245–25
online
*with Goodsir, J. 1840 Description of Limneus involutus Harvey MS. with an account of the anatomy of the animal. ''Annals of natural history'' 5: 22–25
online
*1840 On the Mollusca of Ireland pecies Unica ''Annals of natural history'' 5:8
online
*1840 Contributions towards a knowledge of the Mollusca Nudibranchia and Mollusca Tunicata of Ireland, with descriptions of apparently some new species of invertebrata. ''Annals of natural history'' 5: 84–102 Plate
online
*1840 On a new genus of fishes from India. ''Annals of natural history'', 4 (6), 184–18
online
*1841 Report on the fauna of Ireland (Vertebrata) ''Report of the

'' 184
online
*1840 On a minute alga which colours Ballydrain Lake, in the county of Antrim. ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History'' 5: 75-84, figs 1-3
online
*1841 Catalogue of the land and freshwater Mollusca of Ireland. '' Annals & Magazine of Natural History'' 6: 16–3
online
*1841 Catalogue of the land and freshwater Mollusca of Ireland. ''Annals & Magazine of Natural History'' 6: 109–12
online
*1841 Catalogue of the land andfreshwater Mollusca of Ireland. ''Annals & Magazine of Natural History'' 6: 194–20
online
*1841 Additions to the fauna of Ireland. ''Annals & Magazine of Natural History'' 7: 477–48
online
*1841 Notes on British Char, Salmo Umbla, Linn., S. Salvelinus, Don. ''Annals & Magazine of Natural History'' 6: 444 �
online
*1842 Cycostoma elegans Lam. an Irish shell. ''Annals & Magazine of Natural History'' 8: 22
online
*1842 Results of deep dredging off the Mull of Galloway, by Capt. Beechey, R.N.. ''Annals & Magazine of Natural History'' 10: 21–2
online
*1843 ''Report on the fauna of Ireland: div. Invertebrata. Drawn up, at the request of the British Association''. Rep. Meet. Br. Assoc. Advancem. Science London, 13: 245–29
online
*1844 Additions to the fauna of Ireland. ''Annals & Magazine of Natural History'' 13: 430–44
online
*1845 Additions to the fauna of Ireland, including descriptions of some apparently new species of Invertebrata. ''Annals & Magazine of Natural History'' 15: 308–322
online
*1846 Notice of a bottle-nosed whale Hyperoodon butzkoph, Lancep. obtained in Belfast Bay in October 1845. ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History''. 17, 150–15
online
*1846 Additions to the fauna of Ireland, including species new to that of Britain; with notes on rare species. ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History''. 18, 310–315
online
*1846 Additions to the fauna of Ireland, including a few species unrecorded in that of Britain; with the description of an apparently new ''Glossiphonia''. ''Annals & Magazine of Natural History'' 18: 383–39
online
*1847 Note on the ''Teredo norvegica'' (''T. navalis'', Turton, not Linn), ''Xylophaga dorsalis'', ''Limnoria terebrans'' and ''Chelura terebrans'', combined in destroying the submerged wood-work at the harbour of Ardrossan on the coast of Ayrshire. ''Annals & Magazine of Natural History'' 20: 157–16
online
*1847 Additions to the fauna of Ireland. ''Annals & Magazine of Natural History'' 20: 169–17
online
*1848 Additions to the fauna of Ireland. ''Annals & Magazine of Natural History'' 1: 62–6
online
*1849 Additions to the fauna of Ireland. ''Annals & Magazine of Natural History'' 3: 351–35
online
*1851 Time of spawning of British Crustacea. ''Annals & Magazine of Natural History'' 7: 501–50
online
*1853 ''Supplementary report on the fauna of Ireland''. Report for the British Association for the Advancement of Science : 286–29
online
* Also published by Boehn, London. Note. The pages ''

'', '' The Magazine of Natural History'' and '' Annals & Magazine of Natural History'' all link to digitised versions of these works provided by

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 ...

. Thompson was a Member of the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity and organization devoted to the worldwide animal conservation, conservation of animals and their habitat conservation, habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zo ...

and a Corresponding Member of The

Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading natur ...

and the

Boston Society of Natural History The Boston Society of Natural History (1830–1948) in Boston, Massachusetts, was an organization dedicated to the study and promotion of natural history. It published a scholarly journal and established a museum. In its first few decades, the s ...

Taxon described by him

*See :Taxa named by William Thompson (naturalist)

Species names honouring William Thompson

*The Sea Louse '' Lepeophtheirus thompsoni'' Baird, 1850 *''Acipenser thompsoni''

Ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but sometimes ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for s ...

(in Thompson), 1856,4: 245.

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

of ''

Acipenser sturio The European sea sturgeon (''Acipenser sturio''), also known as the Atlantic sturgeon or common sturgeon, is a species of sturgeon native to Europe. It was formerly abundant, being found in coastal habitats all over Europe. Most specifically, th ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) *'' Bulimus thompsoni'' ( Pfeiffer, 1845) in Pfeiffer, L. 1845. Descriptions of twenty-two new species of land-shells, belonging to the collection of Mr. H. Cuming. ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' 13: 63-68 *'' Lepeophtheirus thompsoni'' Baird, 1850 *''Thaumantias thompsoni'' Forbes , 1841 , ''Ann. Nat. Hist''. *''Meloscira thompsoni'' Harvey synononym of ''Lyngbya thompsonii'' (Harvey) in Hassall, A.H. (1845). ''A history of the British freshwater algae, including descriptions of the Desmideae and Diatomaceae. With upwards of one hundred plates, illustrating the various species''. Vol. I. pp. viii, 462, i , err. London, Edinburgh, Paris & Leipzig: S. Highley, H. Baillière; Sunderland & Knox; J.B. Baillière; T.O. Weige
pdf
*''Spirillum thompsoni'' Hassall, A.H., 1845 ''A history of the British freshwater algae'':278 *''Dolichospermum thompsoni'' Ralfs *The mollusk '' Pterinea thompsoni''

Portlock Portlock is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jenice Dena Portlock (born 1987), also known as Sabi, is an American pop singer, songwriter, dancer and actress * Joseph Ellison Portlock (1794–1864), British geologist and soldier ...

, 1843 in ''Report on the geology of the county of Londonderry, and of parts of Tyrone and Fermanagh''. Dublin, A. Milliken 1843. *''Hypoplita thompsoni'' and '' Pagurus thompsoni''

Bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

in ''A History of the British Stalk-eyed Crustacea''. Paternoster Row, London: John Van Voorst. 1844–1853

Notes

References

External links

About Ireland
pdfs of ''The Natural History of Ireland''
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Digitised ''The Natural History of Ireland'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, William 1805 births 1852 deaths Irish ornithologists 19th-century Irish botanists Scientists from Belfast Irish naturalists Irish marine biologists