Herbert H. (Herbert Holdsworth) Ross

Born in Leeds, England, in 1908, Herbert Holdsworth Ross became a leading systematic entomologist whose career connected Canada and the United States. He studied at the University of British Columbia and later earned advanced degrees at the University of Illinois.

Ross worked with the Illinois Natural History Survey and also served as a professor of entomology at the University of Illinois from 1947 to 1969. He published extensively on insect classification and evolution, and he was especially respected for his work on Trichoptera, the order that includes caddisflies.

Beyond his specialist research, he reached a much wider audience through A Textbook of Entomology, an influential teaching book first published in 1949. He died in 1978, but he is still remembered as an important figure in twentieth-century entomology.