Person PX1229 Kirby; William Forsell (1844-1912); Entomologist Kirby William Forsell 1844-1912 Entomologist Male

Museum Staff: William Forsell Kirby (14 January 1844 - 20 November 1912) was an English entomologist and folklorist. He was born in Leicester. He was the eldest son of Samuel Kirby, who was a banker. He was educated privately, and became interested in butterflies and moths at an early age. The family moved to Brighton, where he became acquainted with Henry Cooke, Frederick Merrifield and J N Winter. He published the Manual of European Butterflies in 1862. In 1867 he became a curator in the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society, and produced a Synonymic Catalogue of Diurnal Lepidoptera (1871; Supplement 1877). In 1879 Kirby joined the staff of the Natural History Museum as an assistant, after the death of Frederick Smith. He published a number of catalogues, as well as Rhopalocera Exotica (1887–1897) and an Elementary Text-book of Entomology. He retired in 1909. Kirby had a wide range of interests, knew many languages and fully translated the Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, from Finnish into English. Kirby's translation, which carefully reproduces the Kalevala meter, was a major influence on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, who first read it in his teens. Kirby provided many footnotes to Sir Richard Burton's translation of the Arabian Nights. Kirby also did important work on orthopteroid insects including a three volume Catalogue of all known species (1904, 1906, 1910). A short biography of Kirby, with particular reference to his work on phasmids was published by Bragg in 2007 Museum staff. Appointed to Department of Zoology as 2nd class Assistant 1879; 1st class Assistant 1895; retired 1909. Manual of European Butterflies. 1862 Synonymic Catalogue of Diurnal Lepidoptera. 1871 Catalogue of the collection of diurnal Lepidoptera formed by the late William Chapman Hewitson of Oatlands, Walton on Thames; and bequeathed by him to the British Museum. London, John Van Voorst. iv + 246 pp.18 A Hand-book to the Order Lepidoptera. 1896. Familiar butterflies and moths. 1901 Butterflies and moths of Europe (Illustrated). 1903 Elementary Text-book of Entomology. Hand-book to the order Lepidoptera. 1897 Marvels of Ant Life. Circa 1890s A Synonymic Catalogue of Orthoptera. British Museum (Natural History), London. 3 volumes: 1904, 1906, 1910 Yes Idealist Import 4namepers.txt 28/02/2004 NHM\laurb5 24/09/2018 28cfc111-9c36-4c1b-9b9c-a4face3d2199