W. B. (William Blaxland) Benham

Born in Isleworth, Middlesex, on March 29, 1860, William Blaxland Benham was educated in England and studied at University College London before building his academic career in biology. He later moved to New Zealand, where he became one of the country’s most important zoologists of his era.

Benham spent much of his working life at the University of Otago, serving as professor of biology and taking a close interest in museum collections as well as teaching. He published widely, with a special reputation for studying earthworms and other invertebrates, and he also played a major part in the development of New Zealand’s scientific institutions.

His work was widely recognized: he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and was later knighted. He died in Dunedin on August 21, 1950, leaving behind a reputation for steady scholarship and for helping build zoology as a serious field of study in New Zealand.