The Humming Bird. 1 1 



John Obadiah Westwood, Professor of Entomology 

 at Oxford University, died on the 2nd of January, 1893, 

 at the great age of 87 years. He was born at Sheffield on 

 December 22nd, 1805. He was at first articled to a solicitor, 

 but although he obtained his admission to the Bar, he never 

 did much in that line of business. All his energy was devoted 

 to the study of Entomology and in drawing insects. These 

 drawings of insects were masterpieces of accuracy and are 

 ranked among the first of this epoch. All orders of insects 

 were familiar to him and many are the monographs which he 

 published, especially on small and difficult families, such as 

 the Paussidae, and others. He was invincibly attracted by all 

 the extraordinary forms found amongst the insects. These 

 early papers appeared in the Natural History Journals of the 

 period. In 1833, the Entomological Society of London was 

 founded, and Westwood identified himself with it from its 

 commencement. He was elected Secretary in 1834, and con- 

 tinued such for several years; he was President on three 

 periods of two years each, and on the occasion of the Jubilee 

 of the Society in 1883 was appointed Honorary Life President. 



There is scarcely a family of Insects in any Order on 

 which he did not treat, and this, with the accuracy for which 

 he was well known. 



His separate works were many. Among them his 

 Introduction to the Modern Classification of Insects can be 

 considered as a masterpiece. This work gained him the Royal 

 Medal of the Royal Society in 1855. 



In 1856, his friend, Mr. Hope, presented his collections 

 to the University of Oxford, and endowed a Professorship, 

 which he intended should be of Entomology, but a difficulty 

 was put in the way, and it was compromised by instituting 

 a Chair of Invertebrate Zoology. Westwood was the first 

 Hope Professor. He soon became a striking feature in the 

 LTniversity, and under his charge the entomological collection 

 increased vastly. 



I had the pleasure of making his acquaintance at the 

 University of Oxford in 1865, and he received me and my 

 friend Salle with the utmost cordiality. I kept an amicable 

 correspondence with him nearly up to the time of his death, 

 and I saw him in London only a few days before this sad 

 event. 



A good portrait and a good biography of Westwood by 

 McLachlan appeared in the Entomologists' Monthly Magazine 

 of February, 1893. 



