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Record

CodePX1827
Dates1920-2000
Person NameSmit; Franciscus Gerardus Albertus Maria (1920-2000); Entomologist
SurnameSmit
ForenamesFranciscus Gerardus Albertus Maria
EpithetEntomologist
ActivityMuseum Staff: Senior Scientific Officer. Smit finished secondary school education in Nijmegen. For health reasons and because of his interest in natural history, he attended a local horticultural college for two years. This was followed by working at a florist's as a volunteer for six months while another six months were spent at the office of an estate agent. In March 1940, through the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, he embarked upon a study of the life-circle and control measures of the subject of the apple-blossom weevil (Anthonomus pomorum L.). This was carried out at Geldermalsen, in a fruit-growing region north of the river Waal. During WW2 he managed to earn a few guilders by gardening and teaching the violin. In 1941 he worked at the office of a transport firm at Venlo but was given permission by his employer to spend one day a week attending entomology lectures at the Agricultural University of Wageningen. In 1942 he obtained a clerical position at the Goverment Coal Office in Nijmegen. During the war years Smit was able to study garden architecture and successfully passed examinations in 1944. After he left the Coal Office in 1946, Frans spent two weeks at Tring, where he became utterly fascinated by the Rothschild flea (siphonaptera) collection housed there. After returning home he failed to get started in garden architecture and instead spent the winter writing a popular book in Dutch on fleas and lice (Vlooien en Luizen).

In September 1947 Smit was appointed entomologist at the Phytopathological Institute at Wageningen. Another holiday was spent at Tring in February 1948. When, in the summer of that year, The Hon. Miriam Rothschild enquired whether he would be interested in coming over to work as a temporary assistant in the Flea Room at Tring, Frans gratefully accepted the opportunity. The Custodian of the Rothschild Collection of Siphonaptera, FJ Cox, retired in 1950, and Frans Smit was appointed as his successor, a position which he held until his retirement in 1980. During those years he published just over 200 books and articles and described more than 200 new forms of fleas. Smit was re-employed by the The Natural History/ Miriam Rothschild as a part-timer to continue work on volume VII of the Rothschild Flea Collection until 1983. After another two years of voluntary work to finish that Catalogue, Frans had to sever his links with flea studies in 1985.
In retirement he was fully occupied with research into Dutch-engraved glasses of the 17th and 18th centuries. Frans had embarked upon those studies as a spare-time interest in 1970 and had also taught himself to engrave glass. In 1980 he was elected a Fellow of the Guild of Glass Engravers. He became known as an authority on Dutch-engraved glass and issued over 50 papers and monographs relating to that subject.

See Austin, 2007, The Second Tring Collection pp.63-67
See also autobiography in Flea News.
RelationshipsMarried Tineke October 1949; four children
Catalogue
RefNoTitleSource
DF/ENT/340/20/6Satchell - Saunders 
DF/ENT/340/19/1Rothschild, Dr Honorable Miriam Luisa (Miriam Lane) (I) 
DF/ENT/340/2Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Ba-Bl 
DF/ENT/340/11Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Ja-Jel 
DF/ENT/340/8/17Hsu - Humphreys 
DF/ENT/340/17/1Pfitzer - Phillips 
DF/ENT/340/12/10Klein, Dr J M 
DF/ENT/340/5Smit, Franciscus: correspondence De-Em 
DF/ENT/340/28/6Paper of Phytopathologie 
DF/ENT/340/14/27Merdivenci - Meynier 
DF/ENT/340/30/11Smit MSS, Literature references incl domestic animals  
DF/ENT/340/2/2Barrera, Prof Dr José Maria de la (II) 
DF/ENT/340/23/13Toumanoff, Prof C 
DF/ENT/340/11/14Jameson, Dr E (Bill) W, Jr (III) 
DF/ENT/340/4/10Cooper, J E 
DF/ENT/340/1/16Balfour- Browne, John William Alexander Francis 
DF/ENT/340/20/15Séguy, Prof E  
DF/ENT/340/16/22Peus, Prof Dr Fritz (1904-1978) (V) 
DF/ENT/340/26/5Winding - Witherby 
DF/ENT/340/26/16British Museum (Clay, Theresa Rachel) 
DF/ENT/340/31/12Flea collection (II) 
DF/ENT/340/22/5Tamsitt, Dr J R 
DF/ENT/340/23/6Tiflov, Dr E V 
DF/ENT/340/13/19Lindberg, Dr K 
DF/ENT/340/20/19Shaw - Shu 
DF/ENT/340/4/20Darskaya, N F (Parasitological Laboratory, Stavropol-Caucasus, USSR) (II) 
DF/ENT/340/26/13British Museum (Annual Reports) 
DF/ENT/340/12/2Johnson, Dr Phyllis T (II) 
DF/ENT/340/13/15Lewis, Prof Dr Robert E (Bob) (V) 
DF/ENT/340/13/12Lewis, Prof Dr Robert E (Bob) (II) 
DF/ENT/340/30/8Smit letters/ manuscript, pictures (II) 
DF/ENT/340/9/5Holland, Dr George P (V) 
DF/ENT/340/2/1Barrera, Prof Dr José Maria de la (I) 
DF/ENT/340/11/18Jellison, Dr William Livingston (II) 
DF/ENT/340/10/2Hubbard, Professor Dr Clarence Andresen (II) 
DF/ENT/340/30/12Smit MSS, translation with BM & Traub 
DF/ENT/340/30/9Smit letters/ MSS (III) 
DF/ENT/340/26/11Zhovtyi, Prof I F 
DF/ENT/340/25/20Watkins - Watts 
DF/ENT/340/27/2British Museum (Doncaster, John Priestman I) 
DF/ENT/340/25/3Traub, Dr Colonel S Robert (XV)  
DF/ENT/340/12/4Johnson, Dr Phyllis T (IV) 
DF/ENT/340/24/11Traub, Dr Colonel S Robert (XI)  
DF/ENT/340/9/10Hopla, Prof Cluff E (II) 
DF/ENT/340/20/27Smit, FGAM 
DF/ENT/340/15/5Mofidi, Dr Chamseddine M H 
DF/ENT/340/10/8Institut Pasteur du Maroc (Morocco) 
DF/ENT/340/18/1Radford, Charles Denys 
DF/ENT/340/7/4Grainger, W E 
DF/ENT/340/17/8Pilgrim, Prof Robert L C (Bob) (III) 
DF/ENT/340/10/6Hubbard, Prof Dr Clarence Andresen (VI) 
DF/ENT/340/2/16Bierkens - Birdseye 
DF/ENT/340/20/5Sakagati, Dr Kôhei 
DF/ENT/340/10Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Hu-In 
DF/ENT/340/23Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Ten-Ty 
DF/ENT/340/10/1Hubbard, Prof Dr Clarence Andresen (I) 
DF/ENT/340/28Smit, Franciscus: notices, copies & papers (I) 
DF/ENT/340/14Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Ll-Me 
DF/ENT/340/6Smit, Franciscus: correspondence En-Fu 
DF/ENT/340/7Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Ga-Has 
DF/ENT/340/12Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Jo-Ku 
DF/ENT/340/11/3Jacobs, Brigitte 
DF/ENT/340/4/7Commonwealth Institute of Entomology 
DF/ENT/340/19/10Rothschild, Dr Honorable Miriam Luisa (Miriam Lane) (X) 
DF/ENT/340/20/8Sawyer - Sazonova 
DF/ENT/340/14/3Loveridge, Dr Arthur 
DF/ENT/340/13Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Lac- Li 
DF/ENT/340/17Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Pf-Qu 
DF/ENT/340/18Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Ra-Ro 
DF/ENT/340/3Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Bo-Ch 
DF/ENT/340/9/3Holland, George P (III) 
DF/ENT/340/8/18Humphries, Dr David A 
DF/ENT/340/1/19Balter - Barnes 
DF/ENT/340/7/21Hamson - Hase 
DF/ENT/340/20Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Ru-Sn 
DF/ENT/340/24/9Traub, Dr Colonel S Robert (IX)  
DF/ENT/311/304Smit, F G A: drawings of fleas for the illustrated catalogue of the Rothschild collection and other publications 
DF/ENT/340/22/14Tervuren Museum (Koninklijk Museum van Belgisch Congo, Musée Royal du Congo Belge) (III) 
DF/ENT/340/4/5Clay - Cluff 
DF/ENT/340/2/14Bernard - Besuchet 
DF/ENT/340/25/16Walder - Walker 
DF/ENT/340/26/9Yarrow - Yemelyanova 
DF/ENT/340/10/5Hubbard, Prof Dr Clarence Andresen (V) 
DF/ENT/340/26/14British Museum B-Ca 
DF/ENT/340/25/21Watt, J Charles 
DF/ENT/340/10/4Hubbard, Prof Dr Clarence Andresen (IV) 
DF/ENT/340/9/2Holland, George P (II) 
DF/ENT/340/25/1Traub, Dr Colonel S Robert (XIII)  
DF/ENT/340/14/20Matheson, Colin 
DF/ENT/340/16/1Nuorteva, Dr Pekka 
DF/ENT/340/24/7Traub, Dr Colonel S Robert (VII)  
DF/ENT/340/27/8British Museum (Ro-Sa) 
DF/ENT/340/16/12Parker, Dr R R 
DF/ENT/340/31Smit, Franciscus: fleas collected elsewhere  
DF/ENT/340/13/17Chen, Prof Li Kuei- 
DF/ENT/340/7/17Haeselbarth, Dr Erasmus (II) 
DF/ENT/340/9/9Hopla, Prof Cluff E (I) 
DF/ENT/340/20/9Scalon, Dr Olga Ivanovna 
DF/ENT/340/27/10British Museum (Sm-W) 
DF/ENT/340/22/16Tervuren Museum (Koninklijk Museum van Belgisch Congo, Musée Royal du Congo Belge) (V) 
DF/ENT/340/27/7British Museum (Riley, Norman Denbigh) 
DF/ENT/340/27/11British Museum (different notices) 
DF/ENT/340/28/7Adverts & Reviews 
DF/ENT/340/23/8Tipton, Prof (Colonel) Vernon J (I) 
DF/ENT/340/22/15Tervuren Museum (Koninklijk Museum van Belgisch Congo, Musée Royal du Congo Belge) (IV) 
DF/ENT/300/110Correspondence: Shredded - Smit 
DF/ENT/340/8/1Hastriter, Michael W 
DF/ENT/340/15Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Mi-No 
DF/ENT/340/18/2Radovsky, Prof Dr Frank J 
DF/ENT/340/9Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Hol-Hop 
DF/ENT/340/26Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Wi-Z; BM A-C 
DF/ENT/340/4Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Ci-Da 
DF/ENT/340/21Smit, Franciscus: correspondence So-Sy 
DF/ENT/340/25Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Traub, Uc-Wh 
DF/ENT/340/19Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Rot-Rü 
DF/ENT/340/8Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Has-Ho 
DF/ENT/340/1Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Ab-Bay 
DF/ENT/340/29/5Morphology & Anatomy of Insects 
DF/ENT/340/30Smit, Franciscus: general notices - fleas collected elsewhere 
DF/ENT/340/29Smit, Franciscus: notices, copies & papers (II) 
DF/ENT/340/27Smit, Franciscus: correspondence (BM C-W; Press & Editors- Press & Editors Cambridge) 
DF/ENT/340/9/8Hopkins, George Henry Evans (III) 
DF/ENT/340/5/15Elbel, Dr Robert E 
DF/ENT/340/5/17Emerson, K C 
DF/ENT/340/1/12Allan, Ronald M (II)  
DF/ENT/340/1/20Barrera, Prof Dr Alfredo 
DF/ENT/340/2/11Bequaert, Prof Joseph (Department of Tropical Medicine, Harvard University Medical School) 
DF/ENT/340/3/4Brinck, Prof Dr Per Gunvor Lindroth- (I) 
DF/ENT/340/12/5Kadarsan - Kaschef 
DF/ENT/340/6/18Fuller, Dr Henry Shepard 
DF/ENT/340/14/19Martin - Mason 
DF/ENT/340/12/8Kiefer - Kissileff 
DF/ENT/340/11/12Jameson, Dr E (Bill) W, Jr (I) 
DF/ENT/340/15/15Meillon, Dr Botha de (III) 
DF/ENT/340/15/3Mikhailov - Milner 
DF/ENT/340/25/23Weidner, Prof. Dr. H. 
DF/ENT/340/24/5Traub, Dr Colonel S Robert (V) 
DF/ENT/340/19/11Rothschild, Dr Honorable Miriam Luisa (Miriam Lane) (XI) 
DF/ENT/340/27/6British Museum (G-P) 
DF/ENT/340/25/18Wallis - Wasserburger 
DF/ENT/340/26/1Wickham - Wilkinson 
DF/ENT/340/26/8Wright - Wytsman 
DF/ENT/340/26/12Zimmerman - Zwilling 
DF/ENT/331/10/1Smit, Franciscus: correspondence on the Catalogue of Rothschild Collection of Fleas (Siphonaptera) 
DF/PH/2/3/7Staff Photograph: Franciscus Gerardus Albertus Maria Smit, entomologist at Natural History Museum at Tring  
DF/ENT/340/24Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Traub 
DF/ENT/340/16/3Oakley - Olsson 
DF/ENT/340/15/2Mikulin, Dr M A 
DF/ENT/340/22Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Sz-Ter 
DF/ENT/340/18/12Rombach, Froube 
DF/ENT/340/12/3Johnson, Dr Phyllis T (III) 
DF/ENT/340/3/6Brinck, Prof Dr Per Gunvor Lindroth- (III) 
DF/ENT/340/20/3Ryckmann - Rysavy 
DF/ENT/340/4/15Cullen - Cyprich 
DF/ENT/340/14/5Lukoschus, Dr F S 
DF/ENT/340/27/12Press and Editors 
DF/ENT/340/17/15Quackenbush - Quivira 
DF/ENT/340/23/11Titschak, Prof Dr Erich 
DF/ENT/340/18/18Rostigayev, Dr B A 
DF/ENT/340/1/23Bayley - Bayreuther 
DF/ENT/340/31/6Flea collection elsewhere (VI) 
DF/ENT/340/25/25Whang - White 
DF/ENT/311/282Smit, F G A M: An illustrated catalogue of the Rothschild collection of fleas (Siphonaptera) 
DF/ENT/340/9/4Holland, Dr George P (IV) 
DF/ENT/340/23/5Thompson - Tiflov 
DF/ENT/340/17/13Prince, Dr Frank M 
DF/ENT/340/15/14Meillon, Dr Botha de (II) 
DF/ENT/340/26/3Wilson 
DF/ENT/340/21/4Spectrum - Sprague 
DF/ENT/340/2/8Beier, Prof Dr Max (Zoological Department, Natural History Museum, Vienna) 
DF/ENT/340/30/4Annotated maps, collecting localities (III) 
DF/ENT/340/22/13Tervuren Museum (Koninklijk Museum van Belgisch Congo, Musée Royal du Congo Belge) (II) 
DF/ENT/340/16Smit, Franciscus: correspondence Nu-Pe 
DF/ENT/340/4/8Conci, Prof C 
DF/ENT/340/26/7World Health Organisation (Switzerland) 
DF/ENT/340/1/11Allan, Ronald M (I)  
DF/ENT/340/27/3British Museum (Doncaster, John Priestman II) 
DF/ENT/340/15/11Mucino - Murzakhmetova 
DF/ENT/340/22/12Tervuren Museum (Koninklijk Museum van Belgisch Congo, Musée Royal du Congo Belge) (I) 
DF/ENT/340/3/14Buxton, Prof Patrick Alfred 
DF/ENT/340/18/13Romer, J D 
DF/ENT/340/26/15British Museum (China, Dr William Edward) 
DF/ENT/340/6/1Royal Entomological Society of London 
DF/ENT/340/21/7Stark, Dr Harold E (I) 
DF/ENT/340/8/8Hincks - Hither Green 
DF/ENT/340/27/5British Museum (Freeman, Dr Paul) 
DF/ENT/340/18/16Rosický, Prof Dr Bohumír (II) 
DF/ENT/340/24/12Traub, Dr Colonel S Robert (XII)  
DF/ENT/340/7/16Haeselbarth, Dr Erasmus (I) 
DF/ENT/340/26/6Wodzicki - Wooster 
DF/ENT/340/24/10Traub, Dr Colonel S Robert (X)  
DF/ENT/340/30/10Smit letters/ MSS (IV) 
DF/ENT/340/18/8Ribeiro, Dr H 
DF/ENT/340/25/5Valenti - Vasquez 
DF/ENT/340/7/13Haas, Dr Glenn E (I) 
DF/ENT/307/84Smit, Franciscus G A M 
DF/ENT/307/85Smit, Franciscus G A M 
DF/ENT/340/10/3Hubbard, Prof Dr Clarence Andresen (III) 
DF/ENT/340/5/9Eads, Dr Richard B 
DF/ENT/340/1/8Atkinson - Augustson 
DF/ENT/340/1/13Baars - Baker 
DF/ENT/340/16/21Peus, Prof Dr Fritz (1904-1978) (IV) 
DF/ENT/340/16/23Peus, Prof Dr Fritz (1904-1978) (VI) 
DF/ENT/340/31/4Flea collection elsewhere (IV) 
DF/ENT/311/281Smit, F G A M: An illustrated catalogue of the Rothschild collection of fleas (Siphonaptera) 
DF/ENT/340/1/5Allison, Frederick Richard 
DF/ENT/340/24/3Traub, Dr Colonel S Robert (III) 
DF/ENT/340/24/6Traub, Dr Colonel S Robert (VI) 
DF/ENT/340/21/21Svihla, Dr Ruth Dowdell & Arthur 
DF/ENT/340/32Smit, Franciscus: Directory of specialists in Siphonaptera with list of papers published, wanted species and wanted publications 
DF/ENT/340/25/7Vickers - Violovich 
DF/ENT/340/30/7Smit letters/ MSS (I) 
DF/ENT/340/4/22Davies, David H S (I) 
DF/ENT/340/21/8Stark, Dr Harold E (II) 
DF/ENT/340/27/9British Museum (Smith, Arthur) 
DF/ENT/340/1/2Aellen, Dr Villy 
DF/ENT/340/1/3Aeschlimann - Akademii 
DF/ENT/340/1/7Arata - Assuricao 
DF/ENT/340/2/13Berlinguer, Prof Giovanni (Istituto di Parassitologia, Università di Roma, Italy) 
DF/ENT/340/2/5Beaumont - Beer 
DF/ENT/340/2/17Bishop - Blickle 
DF/ENT/340/3/1Board - Borough 
DF/ENT/340/3/3Box - Brimley 
DF/ENT/340/3/7British - Britt 
DF/ENT/340/4/6Cockerell - Collins 
DF/ENT/340/5/1Department - Devignat 
DF/ENT/340/5/12Eichler, Prof Dr Wolfdietrich 
DF/ENT/340/6/16Fox, Prof Irving 
DF/ENT/340/12/1Johnson, Dr Phyllis T (I) 
DF/ENT/340/13/5Larson - Layne 
DF/ENT/340/13/21Chi-ying, Prof Emeritus Liu  
DF/ENT/340/14/22McArthur - McRobert 
DF/ENT/340/16/11Pacific - Parcs 
DF/ENT/340/16/17Pazos - Petrides 
DF/ENT/340/18/10Robert - Rolston 
DF/ENT/340/22/6Tandan - Tauber 
DF/ENT/340/24/8Traub, Dr Colonel S Robert (VIII)  
DF/ENT/340/25/24Weir - Wettstein 
DF/ENT/340/30/6Smit letters, flea news correspondence 
DF/ENT/340/29/3College Entomology (Entomology notes Wageningen) 
DF/ENT/340Custodian of the Rothschild Collection of Siphonaptera, Correspondence and Papers 
DF/ENT/340/16/10Osgood - Oxford 
DF/ZOO/232/12/4/15Hayman, Robert William: Correspondence, 1956, T 
DF/ZOO/232/12/2/14Hayman, Robert William: Correspondence, 1947-1952, S 
DF/ENT/331/10Smit, Franciscus: Correspondence 
DF/ZOO/232/12/5/20Hayman, Robert William: Correspondence, 1959, R-T 
DF/ZOO/232/12/6/8Hayman, Robert William: Correspondence, 1960, S-T 
DF/ZOO/232/12/8/10Hayman, Robert William: Correspondence, 1962, S 
DF/ENT/340/25/2Traub, Dr Colonel S Robert (XIV)  
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