For other people named William Benson, see William Benson (disambiguation).
William Henry Benson
Born
(1803-03-30)30 March 1803
St Helier, Jersey
Died
27 January 1870(1870-01-27) (aged 66)
Cheltenham, United Kingdom
Citizenship
British
Alma mater
East India College
Scientific career
Fields
Malacology
Institutions
East India Company
William Henry Benson (30 March 1803 – 27 January 1870)[1][2] was a civil servant in British India and a pioneer malacologist. He made large collections of molluscs and described over 470 species, mainly from India, Sri Lanka, Burma and South Africa.[1]
Benson studied at Haileybury College, Hertfordshire, which was then the training college for the East India Company's civil service. After graduating, he arrived in Calcutta on 30 October 1821 to begin a career that included positions as a District Collector and Officiating Judge in Meerut, Bareilly and other parts of northern India. During his stay in India he collected specimens of numerous land snails some of which he sent to Hugh Cuming in England.
On the return from a trip to Mauritius he brought a couple of living Achatina fulica which he gave to a friend in Calcutta in April 1847 who subsequently released them in a garden at Chowringhee. The species is today a pest in many parts of India.[2]
His son-in-law Major Richard Sankey was executor of his estate. Benson's collection of shells was briefly in the possession of Sylvanus Hanley, who removed many of the detailed labels thus decreasing their scientific value.[1][2] The collection was then purchased by Robert MacAndrew, who in turn bequeathed it to the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge, in 1873.[1]
^ abcdPreece, R.C.; White, T.S.; Raheem, D.C.; Ketchum, H.; Ablett, J.; Taylor, H.; Webb, K.; Naggs, F. (2022). "William Benson and the golden age of malacology in British India: Biography, illustrated catalogue and evaluation of his molluscan types". Tropical Natural History. Supplement 6: 1–434.
^ abcNaggs, F. (1997). "William Benson and the early study of land snails in British India and Ceylon" (PDF). Archives of Natural History. 24 (1): 37–88. doi:10.3366/anh.1997.24.1.37. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016.
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WilliamHenryBenson (30 March 1803 – 27 January 1870) was a civil servant in British India and a pioneer malacologist. He made large collections of molluscs...
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Benson (1873–1915), African-American businessman and educator WilliamHenryBenson (1803–1870), British amateur malacologist William Thomas Benson (1824–1885)...
described under the name Paludina quadrata by English conchologist WilliamHenryBenson in 1842. It is now classified in the genus Sinotaia, although Chinese...
the situation. Markus Huber; Bruce Marshall (2016). "Arcuatula senhousia (Benson, 1842)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2 March 2017. Edgar...
WESTERN GHATS" ResearchGate. Retrieved 2017-02-23. Corilla anax Benson 1865 India Biodiversity Portal Corilla anax (Benson, 1865) Discover Life v t e...
plicidens in laboratory conditions. Bouchet, P. (2016). Bensonella plicidens (Benson, 1849). In: MolluscaBase (2017). Accessed through: World Register of Marine...
from the reference. "[PDF] Pest Alert: Horntail Snail, Macrochlamys indica Benson - Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services" (PDF). Blanford...
B. Burch, 2002 Hypselostoma tubiferum Benson, 1856 Hypselostoma utongensis Panha & J. B. Burch, 2004 Benson, W. H. (1856). "Remarks on the Genera Tanystoma...
mollusk in the family Naticidae. Bouchet, P. (2011). Laguncula pulchella Benson, 1842. In: MolluscaBase (2017). Accessed through: World Register of Marine...
host for trematode Holostephanus sp. 2 and for Pleurogenidae gen. sp. 2. Benson W. H. (1842). Mollusca. In: Cantor Th. "General features of Chusan, with...
Naticidae. Species within the genus Laguncula include: Laguncula pulchella Benson, 1842 Cantor, Theodore (1842). "General Features of Chusan, with Remarks...
November 2021. MolluscaBase eds. (2022). MolluscaBase. Erepta setiliris (W. H. Benson, 1859). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www...
Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2010. Benson W. H. (1835). "Account of Oxygyrus; a new genus of pelagian shells allied...
Species. Version 2014.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 27 August 2014. Benson W. B. (1836). "Descriptive catagogue of a collection of land and fresh-water...
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