Henry Edwards (entomologist)

This article is about the England-born actor and entomologist. For the American entomologist, see William Henry Edwards.

Henry Edwards
A monochrome photograph of a man from the thigh up, approximately 40 years old, with a large moustache and no sideburns, leaning with his right elbow on a fur-draped arm of furniture, looking slightly to the left
Souvenir theatre card[1]
Born(1827-08-27)27 August 1827
Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, England
Died9 June 1891(1891-06-09) (aged 63)[2]
New York City, US
Occupations
  • actor
  • writer
  • entomologist

Henry Edwards (27 August 1827 – 9 June 1891) was an English stage actor, writer and entomologist who gained fame in Australia, San Francisco and New York City for his theatre work.

Edwards was drawn to the theatre early in life, and he appeared in amateur productions in London. After sailing to Australia, Edwards appeared professionally in Shakespearean plays and light comedies primarily in Melbourne and Sydney. Throughout his childhood in England and his acting career in Australia, he was greatly interested in collecting insects, and the National Museum of Victoria used the results of his Australian fieldwork as part of the genesis of their collection.

In San Francisco, Edwards was a founding member of the Bohemian Club, and a gathering in Edwards's honour was the spark which began the club's traditional summer encampment at the Bohemian Grove.[3] As well, Edwards cemented his reputation as a preeminent stage actor and theatre manager. After writing a series of influential studies on Pacific Coast butterflies and moths he was elected life member of the California Academy of Sciences. Relocating to the East Coast, Edwards spent a brief time in Boston theatre. This led to a connection to Wallack's Theatre and further renown in New York City. There, Edwards edited three volumes of the journal Papilio and published a major work about the life of the butterfly.[2] His large collection of insect specimens served as the foundation of the American Museum of Natural History's butterfly and moth studies.

Edwards's wide-ranging studies and observations of insects brought him into contact with specimens not yet classified. Upon discovering previously unknown insects he would give them names, which led to a number of butterfly, moth and beetle species bearing "Hy. Edw." (for Henry Edwards) as an attribution.[4] From his theatre interests to entomology, Edwards carried forward an appreciation of Shakespeare—in the designation of new insect species he favoured female character names from Shakespeare's plays.

  1. ^ Souvenir card given to Charles Warren Stoddard showing Edwards as an actor with the California Theatre Stock Company. The inscription reads:
    "To my valued friend Chas. W. Stoddard -
    with my most affectionate regards
    San Francisco. Dec 9, 1871     Hy. Edwards."
  2. ^ a b Beutenmuller, William (July 1899). "Henry Edwards". The Canadian Entomologist. 23 (7): 141–42. doi:10.4039/Ent23141-7.
  3. ^ Garnett, 1908, p. 7.
  4. ^ Remington, J. E. (January 1948). "Henry Edwards (1830–1891)" (PDF). The Lepidopterists' News. II (1): 7. Retrieved 23 July 2009.