Edward Meyrick

Edward Meyrick FRS (24 November 1854, in Ramsbury – 31 March 1938 at Thornhanger, Marlborough) was an English schoolmaster and amateur entomologist. He was an expert on Microlepidoptera and some consider him one of the founders of modern Microlepidoptera systematics.

Edward Meyrick was educated at Marlborough College and Trinity College, Cambridge. Meyrick began publishing notes on microlepidoptera in 1875, but when in December, 1877 he gained a post at The King's School, Parramatta, New South Wales, there were greater opportunities for indulging his interest. He stayed in Australia for ten years before returning to England to teach classics at Marlborough College and become a corresponding member of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. He was the author of Handbook of British Lepidoptera (1895) and Exotic Microlepidoptera (Mar. 1912 – Nov. 1937), the latter consisting of four complete volumes and part of volume five. He also wrote a great number of academic articles.

Meyrick was a fellow of the Royal Entomological Society of London and a Fellow of the Royal Society. His huge collection of specimens (over 100,000) is at the Natural History Museum, London. It is believed that he had collected more specimens than anyone else.