Charles French (entomologist)
Charles French (10 September 1842 – 21 May 1933) was an Australian
Early life
French was born in Lewisham, Kent, England, the son of John French (died 1848) and Ellen, née Tucker. Ellen remarried and the young French moved to Melbourne with his family in 1852. For some years he worked as a gold digger in Bendigo. They settled in Cheltenham, a suburb of Melbourne.[1]
Career
French became interested in natural history and was apprenticed to a nurseryman at James Scott's nursery,
In 1873 William Guilfoyle was appointed curator of the Gardens and French was placed in charge of fern propagation in the nursery complex.
French had resumed his interest in insects in 1860. In 1874 he co-authored an article on timber-boring insects which appeared in the annual report of the Department of Agriculture. This is considered the first publication on economic entomology in
Late life and legacy
French retired in 1908 and was succeeded by his son,
French died in Malvern, Melbourne, on 21 May 1933; he was survived by his third wife, a son and daughter from the first marriage and a daughter from his second marriage.[5]
Works
- Handbook of the destructive insects of Victoria; Volumes I-V 1891–1911; (Volume VI, with text and coloured plates, was prepared but never published.)
References
- ^ ISSN 1326-6756.
- ^ The Royal Australian Chemical Institute (23 September 2015). "Nicotine as an insecticide in Australia: a short history". Chemistry in Australia magazine. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ Handbook of the Destructive Insects of Victoria. Part VI. C. French. DPI Melbourne 2013
- ^ Pescott, R.T.M. (1981). "French, Charles (1842 - 1933)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Volume 8. Melbourne University Press. pp. 585–586.
- ^ Serle, Percival (1949). "French, Charles". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus & Robertson.
Other sources
- E. E. Pescott, The Victorian Naturalist, July 1933; The Cyclopedia of Victoria, 1903; The Argus, Melbourne, 23 May 1933.
- J. H. Willis, Botanical Pioneers in Victoria (Melbourne, 1949); R. T. M. Pescott, History of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne (manuscript, privately held).