134 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



THE LATE WILLIAM LENNON. 



IN the death of Mr. William Lennon, of Brooke Street, 

 Dumfries, which occurred on 3Oth December 1899, there has 

 passed away an ardent student of nature and a most kindly 

 and much respected man. He was one of a family of octo- 

 genarians, and had himself entered on his eighty-second 

 year a few weeks ago. He was born in Dryfesdale, and 

 brought up in the parish of Applegarth. There he served an 

 apprenticeship as a shoemaker, and subsequently established 

 himself in business in Annan ; but was afterwards appointed 

 head attendant at the Crichton Royal Institution, and finally 

 became the personal attendant of the late Sir Edward 

 Vavasour. His connection with the Crichton Royal Institu- 

 tion, which continued for over forty years, afforded him 

 many facilities for those natural history pursuits which had 

 a fascination for him from boyhood. 



William Lennon's was a busy life, for he devoted every 

 minute of his leisure to the constant plodding after nature's 

 secrets and ways. He was essentially a working-man natu- 

 ralist, without more than an elementary education. Yet 

 scientific men of fame cultivated his acquaintance and were 

 in regular correspondence with him, while he was a welcome 

 guest in circles far above his own in social position. His 

 love of nature was pure and unselfish. 



Lepidoptera were his first study, and his collection of 

 butterflies and moths is perhaps the best local one that has 

 ever been brought together. For the better half of his days, 

 however, Coleoptera engaged his attention almost entirely. 

 As he said himself, in a paper published on this favourite 

 subject " I have searched almost every field, moor, moss, 

 glen, and stream in the district," and upwards of 1500 

 species were collected in Dumfriesshire and Galloway alone, 

 so that, thanks to his labours and to those of his predecessor 



