William Henry Edwards

For other people of the same name, see William Edwards (disambiguation).

William Henry Edwards (March 15, 1822 – April 4, 1909) was an important entomologist in the United States.

Edwards was born in Hunter, Greene County, New York. He is remembered for his trip to the Amazon in 1846, that he recorded in his book A Voyage Up the River Amazon, with a residency at Pará[1] (1847), that inspired Wallace and Bates to make their famous trip to the region. Edwards published the first major study of "The Butterflies of North America" (finished in 1897). He was an observer of the American Civil War and a correspondent of Darwin. He died at his home "Bellefleur" in Coalburg, West Virginia.[2] The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.[3]

Works

His more prominent writings were " A Voyage up the River Amazon" (16mo, 256 pp. New York: 1847. New edition, 12mo, 8 + 210 pp. London, 1855) ; "The Butterflies of North America," series 1-5 (4to, illus. New York and Boston : 1868-1897); "Synopsis of North American Butterflies " (410, 5+52 pp. Philadelphia: 1872); "Catalogue of the Diurnal Lepidoptera of America North of Mexico " (Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc., Vol. 6, pp. 1-68) ; " Revised Catalogue of the Diurnal Lepidoptera of America North of Mexico " (8vo, pp. 95. Philadelphia : 1884); also over two hundred and fifty articles in various scientific journals.[4]

Like many brilliant people, Edwards had his avocations and published a few works on matters other than entomology. Towards the end of his life he published one of the most persuasive, not to say passionate, monographs to call into question the authorship of the accepted works of Shakespeare. Whatever one's views on the subject, the book remains worth reading for its interest and trenchancy. It is accessible online.[5] He also participated in the publication of his grandfather's memoirs, a document of some historical interest.[6]

References

  1. ^ "A Voyage Up the River Amazon, with a residency at Pará"
  2. ^ Michael J. Pauley (January 1990). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: William H. & William S. Edwards House". State of West Virginia, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Historic Preservation. http://www.wvculture.org/shpo/nr/pdf/kanawha/90000713.pdf. Retrieved 2011-08-05. 
  3. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
  4. ^ Weeks, A. G. (1910) Illustrations of diurnal lepidoptera.
  5. ^ Edwards, William Henry ; Shaksper not Shakespeare; Pub: The Robert Clarke company, Cincinnati, 1900. [1]
  6. ^ Edwards, William, 1770-1851; Edwards, William W., 1796-1876; Edwards, William Henry, 1822-1909; Memoirs of Col. William Edwards, formerly of Stockbridge and Northampton, Mass., later of Hunter, Greene Co., N. Y., and of Brooklyn, N. Y.; written by himself, in his 76th year, 1847, with notes and additions by his son, William W. Edwards, and by his grandson, William Henry Edwards (1897); Washington, D. C., Press of W. F. Roberts. [2]

External links