George William Byers

Born in Washington, D.C., on May 16, 1923, and raised in Lafayette, Indiana, he went on to study biology and entomology at the University of Michigan. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army, and he was later recalled to active duty during the Korean War, where he worked on research related to epidemic hemorrhagic fever.

Most of his professional life was tied to the University of Kansas, where he became a professor of entomology and later retired as director of the Snow Entomological Museum. He was especially known for his work on Diptera and Mecoptera, and for a long publishing career that contributed to the classification and understanding of these insects.

Colleagues and former students remembered him as a generous teacher with deep knowledge, patience, and enthusiasm in the field as well as the classroom. Beyond his formal university work, he also taught for many years at Mountain Lake Biological Station, where he left a strong impression on students and fellow naturalists.