William Spence
| William Spence | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||
| Born | 1783 | ||||||||
| Died | 1860 | ||||||||
| Occupation |
economist entomologist | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Contents
Notes
Office Notes
ESL Council 1847-48 Member
ESL Council 1848-49 Member
ESL Council 1849-50 Member
ESL Council 1850-51 Member
ESL Council 1851-52 Member
ESL Council 1852-53 Member
ESL Council 1853-54 Member
ESL Council 1854-55 Member
House Notes
1847.05.13 Resolved that the following gentlemen be requested to allow their names to be put in nomination at the forthcoming Anniversary as Members of Council: Beriah Botfield Esq. MP, Sir Alex. Morison MD, Henry Hallam Esq., Colonel Skardon, Robert Ingham Esq., William Spence Esq., J.B. Jukes Esq.
1849.04.19 resolved that a Committee be appointed to consider the present condition and future prospects of the Society and that the following gentlemen be elected members of that Committee: Sir Charles Malcolm, William Spence Esq., G.B. Greenough Esq., Joseph Fletcher Esq., Thomas Hodgkin MD, Thomas May Esq., William Ogilby Esq., Dr Latham, and that these form a quorum
sub-committee to report on another volume 1853
Notes From Elsewhere
William Spence (c.1783 – 6 January 1860) was a British economist and entomologist.
Spence was born in Bishop Burton in the East Riding of Yorkshire, the oldest of four children of farmer Robert Spence. He was apprenticed to Russian merchants and shipowners Carhill, Greenwood & Co. but little else is known about his early life except that at the age of ten he was in the care of a clergyman who taught him botany. He married Elizabeth Blundell in Hull on 30 June 1804 and very soon supported her brother Henry to set up the highly successful oil and colour company Blundell Spence. He was the father of artist and art dealer William Blundell Spence.
He became interested in entomology when he was 22 and immediately began a correspondence with leading entomologist William Kirby. Together they wrote Introduction to Entomology, published in four volumes between 1815 and 1826, the first popular book on entomology in English. Spence also published some 20 notes on entomology.
In 1822, he also published Tracts on Political Economy Viz. 1. Britain Independent of Commerce; 2. Agriculture the Source of Wealth; 3. The Objections Against the Corn Bill Refuted; 4. Speech on the East India Trade. With Prefatory Remarks on the Causes and Cure of Our Present Distresses as Originating from Neglect of Principles Laid Down in These Works (London: Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1822).
In 1833 he was one of the founders of the Society of Entomologists of London, becoming its president in 1847.[1] He was made an 'Honorary English Member' of the Entomological Society at the same time as Kirby was made Honorary Life President.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in April 1834.
He was the first editor of a Hull newspaper, the Hull Rockingham. There is a bust of him by Morochetti in the Hull museum.
Publications
External Publications
Introduction to Entomology, published in four volumes between 1815 and 1826
Tracts on Political Economy Viz. 1. Britain Independent of Commerce; 2. Agriculture the Source of Wealth; 3. The Objections Against the Corn Bill Refuted; 4. Speech on the East India Trade. With Prefatory Remarks on the Causes and Cure of Our Present Distresses as Originating from Neglect of Principles Laid Down in These Works (London: Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1822).