Francis Walker (July 31, 1809 – October 5, 1874) was an English
entomologist. He was one of the most prolific authors in
entomology, and stirred controversy during his later life as his publications resulted in a huge number of
junior synonyms.
Walker was contracted by the
British Museum between June 1848 and late 1873 to catalogue their insects (except
Coleoptera). He was born in
Southgate, England on 31 July 1809 and died at
Wanstead, England 5 October 1874. Walker added an immense amount of material to the collections of the
British Museum and wrote over 300 scientific papers and notes. He is best known for his catalogues of
Orthoptera,
Neuroptera,
Homoptera,
Diptera,
Lepidoptera and
Hymenoptera. Collaborating with
Alexander Henry Haliday, a lifelong friend, he was one of the first students of the
Chalcidoidea. He was also a close friend of
John Curtis. Walker was a Fellow of the
Entomological Society. Walker's specimens are in the
Natural History Museum, London,
Hope Department of Entomology, University of Oxford, The
National Museum of Ireland, Dublin
Zoologische Staatssammlung München and the
School of Medicine, Cairo, Egypt.
Family and childhood
Francis Walker was the son of John Walker of
Arnos Grove a
Fellow of the
Royal Society, the
Linnean Society and the
Royal Horticultural Society.Born into a wealthy and highly educated family Francis spent the years 1816 (when he was seven years old) to 1820 (when he was eleven) in Switzerland at
Geneva,
Lucerne and
Vevey...
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