W. H. (William Henry) Dallinger

Born in Devonport on 5 July 1842, he was the son of Joseph Stephen Dallinger, an artist and engraver. Although he was drawn to natural science from boyhood, he entered the Wesleyan ministry in 1861 and served churches including Faversham, Cardiff, Bristol, and Liverpool.

During his years in Liverpool, he began the microscopic research that made his reputation. Working with Dr. John James Drysdale, he carried out long, painstaking studies of single-celled organisms, tracing their life cycles and showing how some could gradually adapt to higher temperatures. Their work also helped challenge claims of spontaneous generation by showing how resistant microbial spores could survive conditions once thought fully sterilizing.

He later became governor and president of Wesley College, Sheffield, and was also known as a successful public lecturer on microscopical subjects, speaking for the Gilchrist Educational Trust for many years. He died on 7 November 1909, remembered both as a Wesleyan minister and as an important early biologist.