Kirby

Kirby, William (1759-1850), the entomologist, was born in Suffolk, and educated at Ipswich and Cambridge. He took orders in 1782, and became vicar of Barham, Suffolk, in 1796. Before becoming an entomologist he gave.much attention to botany, and was one of the original fellows of the Linnaean Society. In 1802 he published a monograph on English bees. Three years later he made the acquaintance of William Spence, and in 1815 appeared the first volume of their joint work on entomology. Kirby, who was elected F.R.S. in 1818, was also author of The History, Habits, and Instincts of Animals, and founded the new insect order of Strepsiptera. [Spence.]