William Vincent Legge

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Colonel William Vincent Legge (1841-1918) was born at Cullenswood, Tasmania. He was educated mainly in Britain, also in France and Germany, and became a proficient linguist. In 1862 he was commissioned into the Royal Artillery, serving first in Bath, England, and then in Melbourne for several years. From Melbourne his battery was transferred to Colombo, Ceylon, where he was stationed 1869-1877. He then took a staff appointment at Aberystwith, Cardiganshire, for five years. Subsequently he moved back to Tasmania and served for eleven years as Commandant of the Tasmanian Defence Forces, retiring when he reached the age-limit. He died at Cullenswood on 25 March 1918 at the age of 77.

Colonel Legge had a strong interest in ornithology. His experiences in Ceylon led to his authorship of History of the Birds of Ceylon, comprising two quarto-sized volumes, with coloured plates by Keulemans, published in 1880. He was elected the founding President of the RAOU in 1901 and served various offices within it, notably on the Check-list Committee, until his death. He was also a Colonial Member of the BOU and an Honorary Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union.

[edit] References

  • Anon. (1918). Obituary Notices: Legge. Emu 18: 77-79.
  • Robin, Libby. (2001). The Flight of the Emu: a hundred years of Australian ornithology 1901-2001. Carlton, Vic. Melbourne University Press. ISBN 0-522-84987-3
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