author
David Sharp
1840–1922
A Victorian-era physician turned leading beetle expert, this prolific naturalist helped shape modern entomology through hundreds of papers and major reference works. His writing opened up the extraordinary diversity of insects for generations of specialists and curious readers alike.
2 Audiobooks
The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 05 (of 10)
by Adam Sedgwick, David Sharp, F. G. (Frederick Granville) Sinclair
The Cambridge natural history, Vol. 06 (of 10)
by David Sharp
About the author
Trained as a physician, David Sharp became best known as one of the leading entomologists of his time. He worked especially on beetles, and his scientific output was remarkable: more than 250 papers, including major revisions and broad surveys, made him one of the most prolific writers in the field.
His career reached well beyond private study. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1890, and he also played an important editorial role in journals and large collaborative works that helped organize knowledge about insects. Among his best-known contributions were studies of beetle classification and structure, as well as editorial work on major zoological projects such as Fauna Hawaiiensis.
Born in 1840 and dying in 1922, Sharp belonged to a generation that helped turn natural history into a more systematic science. Even now, he is remembered as a careful observer, an energetic scholar, and a central figure in the study of Coleoptera.