William Elford Leach

Who was William Elford Leach?

William Elford Leach, FRS was an English zoologist and marine biologist.

Leach was born at Hoe Gate, Plymouth, the son of a solicitor. At the age of twelve he went to school in Exeter, studying anatomy and chemistry. By this time he was already collecting marine samples from Plymouth Sound and along the Devon coast. At seventeen he began studying medicine at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, finishing his qualification at the University of Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews.

In 1813, Leach returned to his zoological interests and was employed as assistant librarian in the Zoological Department at the British Museum. He set himself to sorting out the collections, many of which had been neglected since they had been left to the museum by Hans Sloane. During his time there he was made assistant keeper of the natural history department and became an expert on crustaceans and molluscs. In 1815, Leach published the first bibliography of entomology in Brewster's Edinburgh Encyclopedia. In 1817, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society.