Person

Macleay, William Sharp (1792 - 1865)

Born
21 July 1792
England
Died
26 January 1865
Occupation
Naturalist and Entomologist

Summary

William Sharp Macleay was well known in England as a scientist and wrote on entomology and natural history. He emigrated to New South Wales in 1839 and continued his scientific enquiries, becoming closely associated with the Australian Museum, Sydney.

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Archival resources

Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science

  • Australian Botanists - Biographies, MS 064; Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science. Details

The Linnean Society of New South Wales

  • William Sharp Macleay - Records, 1837 - 1859; The Linnean Society of New South Wales. Details

Macleay Museum, University of Sydney

  • William Sharp Macleay - Records, 1800 - 1865; Macleay Museum, University of Sydney. Details

Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales

  • Clarke Family Papers - Records, 1789 - 1879, ML MSS 139; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
  • Linnean Society of London - Records, 1792 - 1870, FM 4/2699; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
  • Linnean Society of New South Wales - Records, 1826 - 1970, ML MSS 2009; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
  • William Sharp Macleay - Records, 1842 - 1863, A5378; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details

Published resources

Books

  • Musgrave, A., Bibliography of Australian entomology, 1775-1930: with biographical notes on authors and collectors (Sydney: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, 1932), 380 pp. Details
  • Stacey, Robyn and Hay, Ashley, Museum: the MacLeays, their Collection and the Search for Order (Sydney: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 196 pp. Details

Book Sections

  • Clark, J. F. M., 'William Sharp Macleay, 1792-1865' in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004). Details
  • Fulton, G. R., 'Alexander, William Sharp, and William John Macleay: their Ornithology and Museum' in Contributions to the History of Australasian Ornithology, volume 2, Davis, William E., Recher, Harry F. and Boles, Walter E., eds (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Nuttall Ornithological Club, 2012), pp. 327-93. Details
  • MacMillan, David S., 'MacLeay, William Sharp (1792-1865), scholar and naturalist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 2: 1788 - 1850 I-Z, Douglas Pike, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1967), pp. 182-183. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020158b.htm. Details

Edited Books

  • Stanbury, Peter and Holland, Julian eds, Mr Macleay's celebrated cabinet: the history of the Macleays and their museum (Sydney: Macleay Museum, University of Sydney, 1988), 170 pp. Details

Journal Articles

  • Di Gregorio, Mario A., 'The Uniqueness of Charles Darwin: His Reading of W.S.Macleay's Horae Entomologicae', Historical Records of Australian Science, 11 (2) (1996), 103-117. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9961120103. Details
  • Fletcher, J.J., 'Presidential address: the Society's heritage from the Macleays', Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 45 (4) (1920), 567-635. Details
  • Holland, Julian, 'Diminishing Circles: W.S. Macleay in Sydney, 1839-1865', Historical Records of Australian Science, 11 (2) (1996), 119-147. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9961120119. Details
  • Novick, Aaron, 'A reappraisal of Charles Darwin's engagement with the work of William Sharp Macleay', Journal of the history of biology, 52 (2019), 245-70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10739-018-9541-z. Details

Resources

Reviews

See also

  • Maiden, J. H., 'Records of Australian botanists:- (a) general; (b) New South Wales', Journal and Proceedings of The Royal Society of New South Wales, 42 (1908), 60-132. Details
  • Moyal, Ann: with Robert E. Marks, 'The scientists and Darwin's The origin of species in nineteenth century Australia: a re-evaluation', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 152 (1) (2019), 5-26. Details
  • Serle, Percival, Dictionary of Australian biography (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1949). Details

McCarthy, G.J.

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 18 February 2014

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