author
W. J. (William Jacob) Holland
1848–1932
A minister, museum leader, and naturalist all in one, he helped bring butterflies, moths, and fossils to a wide public. His books and museum work made science feel vivid and approachable.
4 Audiobooks
Taxidermy and Zoological Collecting A Complete Handbook for the Amateur Taxidermist, Collector, Osteologist, Museum-Builder, Sportsman, and Traveller
by William T. (William Temple) Hornaday, W. J. (William Jacob) Holland
The Mentor: Butterflies, Vol. 3, Num. 12, Serial No. 88, August 2, 1915
by W. J. (William Jacob) Holland
The Butterfly Book A Popular Guide to a Knowledge of the Butterflies of North America
by W. J. (William Jacob) Holland
The butterfly guide : A pocket manual for the ready identification of the commoner species found in the United States and Canada
by W. J. (William Jacob) Holland
About the author
Born in Jamaica in 1848, William Jacob Holland built an unusually wide-ranging career. He was an ordained Presbyterian minister, later served as the eighth Chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh, and went on to lead the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.
He is especially remembered as an entomologist and popular science writer. Holland wrote well-known works on butterflies and moths, including The Butterfly Book and The Moth Book, helping many general readers and amateur naturalists get closer to the insect world.
An obituary published after his death in 1932 described him as the "dean of American entomologists," which gives a sense of the respect he had earned. Alongside his writing, his museum leadership and broader work in zoology and paleontology left a lasting mark on American natural history.