William Alexander Forbes

William Alexander Forbes (June 25, 1855–January 14, 1883) was an English zoologist.

Forbes studied natural sciences at St John's College, Cambridge. In 1879 he was appointed prosector to the Zoological Society of London on the death of the previous incumbent, Alfred Henry Garrod.

In 1880 Forbes visited the forests of Pernambuco, Brazil, and published an account of his trip in "The Ibis" in 1881. In 1882 he travelled to west Africa to study the native fauna, starting from the mouth of the Niger delta. He was taken ill shortly after Christmas and died in Shonga. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/9849 Forbes, William Alexander (1855-1883), zoologist] by G. T. Bettany, rev. Yolanda Foote in Dictionary of National Biography online (accessed 21 July 2008)]

In 1878-02-08, Forbes was elected Secretary of the Cambridge Natural History Society. He also edited the book compiling the scientific papers produced by Alfred Henry Garrod after his death in 1879.

Forbes is commemorated in the names of the Forbes's Blackbird "Curaeus forbesi", White-collared Kite "Leptodon forbesi" and the Forbes's Plover "Charadrius forbesi".

References and Further Reading

* [http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/met/jds/cnhs/CNHS_History.htm "The Cambridge Natural History Society"] by Charles E Raven.
*Forbes, William Alexander and Beddard, F.E. ed. (1885) "The Collected Scientific Papers of the late William Alexander Forbes". London, [England] . R.H. Porter. 496 pages

Footnotes