Timeline of entomology – 1800–1850

1800 – an arbitrary date but it was around this time that systematists began to specialise. There remained entomological polyhistors – those who continued to work on the insect fauna as a whole.

From the beginning of the century, however, the specialist began to predominate, harbingered by Johann Wilhelm Meigen's Nouvelle classification des mouches à deux aile (New classification of the Diptera) commenced in the first year of the century. Lepidopterists were amongst the first to follow Meigen's lead. The specialists fell into three categories. First there were species describers, then specialists in species recognition and then specialists in gross taxonomy. There were however considerable degrees of overlap. Also then, as now, few could entirely resist the lure of groups other than their own, and this was especially true of those in small countries where they were the sole 'expert', and many famous specialists in one order also worked on others. Hence, for instance, many works which began as butterfly faunas were completed as general regional works, often collaboratively.

"Man is born not to solve the problems of the universe, but to find out where the problem begins, and then to restrain himself within the limits of the comprehensible" Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Conversations with Eckerman: Feb. 13, 1829

1800

1801

1802

1803

1804

1805

1806

1807

1808

1809

1810

1811

1812

1813

1814

1815

1816

1817

1818

1819

1820

1821

1822

1823

1824

1825

1826

1827

1828

1829

1830

1831

1832

1833

1834

Suites à Buffon. Paris 1834-1863.

1835

1836

1837

1838

1839

1840

1841

1842

1843

1844

1845

1846

1847

1848

1849

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Wikipedia