James Charles Dale

James Charles Dale (1792 - 6 February 1872) was a wealthy English naturalist who devoted almost all of his adult life to entomology.

James Dale was the son of wealthy landowners. He received his education at Cambridge University receiving his MA in 1818. He was a friend of James Francis Stephens, frequently mentioned in that author's "Illustrations of British Entomology" and of John Curtis who refers to him frequently in his "British Entomology". Another close friend was the Irish entomologist Alexander Henry Haliday. The references are mainly to Coleoptera though Dale worked on all Orders.

His first note, on Lepidoptera was published, in the "Magazine of Natural History" in 1830. This was followed by some 83 further notes and articles covering a wide range of topics.

He was elected a member of the first Entomological Society of London on 25 June 1822.

Works

'Catalogue of the Coleopterous Insects of Dorsetshire', in Nat., 2, 1837, pp. 408-415, and 3, 1838, pp. 12-18.

Collections

Dale’s collection is in the Hope Department of Entomology.The Dalean collection was housed in 33 cabinets when it was received at Oxford in 1906, of which five cabinets were devoted to Coleoptera. Included in the latter are four drawers of Thomas Vernon Wollaston beetles from Madeira, Cape Verde, Canary Islands and St. Helena. It is still housed separately from the main collections. Dale’s manuscripts and notebooks are in the Hope Library.

References

Obituary notices
*Anon, 1872 "Entomologists Monthly Magazine " 8, 1872, pp. 255-56
*Anon, 1872 "Petites Nouv. Ent"., 4, p.197.
*Newman, E., 1872 "Entomologist" 6, 1872, p.56
*Westwood, J.O., 1872 "Proceedings of the Entomological Society of London"