OIUTrAHY. 



Wii.M.wi .Iiisrrn Kai\i;o\v. 



Kiitoiiioic.jrist, isi»r) to 11H9. 



Aftei" a Imi^ and painful illness Mr. William .T(»sef)li Uainhow, 

 Entoniolotcist, to tlie Australian Mus(Mim, [)asse(l away on the 21st 

 Novenihei', 191!), at the age of 08. 



Ot Mr. Rainbow's eail\' life and liis entrance into tlie field of 

 Knt(Hnoh)j?y a few notes will (ioiibtless pi'ove of interest. 



Mr. Hainbow was born in Yoikshire in 1856, and as liis fatliei- was a 

 Warrant Officei' in tlie Royal Marines he spent iiincli of his boyliood in 

 the naval towns. It was in these towns and also in Kdinbniofh that he 

 received most of his education. In 187.") he left En<^land with his parents 

 for New Zealand, and on the lon<^- sea voyage out young Rainbow acted as 

 schoolmaster to the numerous children on the emigrant sliip. On ariival 

 in New Zealand he took up news[)a[)er work, and was for some yeai's on 

 the literary staft" of the " Wanganui Herald," edited and owned bv 

 Mr. John Ballance who in latei' ycais was destined to become tlie Premier 

 of the C^olony. 



It was to Mr. l>al lance that Mr. Kainiiow was indebted foi' lielp and 

 encouiageiiie:it in fiirtheiing his studies in Natuial Histoi-y, a suliject in 

 which he appears to have shown an eai'ly interest. It is dontble.ss 

 to this encoiiiagement on the [)ai't of his chief that Mr. Rainbow's 

 eminent position in science is due. 



In 1883 Mr. Rainbow arrived in 8\'dney from New Zealand and 

 during the 3'ear married Ariiette Dainty of New Zealand. For- some 

 years he served on the staffs of the '' Daily Telegraph," " S^'dney Morning 

 Herald," "J^lvening News" and other prominent local journals. 



Mr. Rainbow subsequently abandoned jouinalisti(^ work for a position 

 in the Government Printing Oifice, from which service he withdrew in 

 1895 to fill the post of entomologist to the Australian Museum. Duiing 

 his career as entomologist to this institution. Mi'. Rainbow contributed 

 many papers to science embodying the results of his entomological and 

 arachnological researches. His papers total 71 in number, and he also 

 publislied two bi-ochui-es "A Ciuide to the Study of Australian Butterflies " 

 and "Mosquitoes: Their' Habits ami Hist ribution." The majority of his 

 papers are devoted to the older Aiachnida, a grou[) whicdi has always met 

 witli little favoui- in the eyes of natuialists. It is by his labours on this 

 ini[)ortant bramdi of biological science that Mr. Rainbow's name will be 

 remembeied. He was long regarded as the leading authority in Australia 

 on this group and his death robs science of one of her ablest workers. 

 When we lealise under what great physical disabilities Mr. Rainbow 

 laboured, we cannot but highly commend the spirit with which he was 

 endowed, for he was at all times of a genial and sunny nature and showe<l 

 (V devotion to duty even when racked with suffering. 



