William Chapman Hewitson
William Chapman Hewitson (9 January 1806, in Newcastle upon Tyne – 28 May 1878, in Oatlands Park, Surrey) was a British naturalist. A wealthy collector, Hewitson was particularly devoted to Coleoptera (beetles) and Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) and, also, to birds' nests and eggs. His collection of butterflies, collected by him as well as purchased from travellers throughout the world, was one of the largest and most important of his time.
Also recorded as Hewitson · W. C. Hewitson
William Chapman Hewitson
Ibis Jubilee supplement 1908 · Public domain
- Born
- 1806.
- Died
- 1878.
- Nationality
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
- Occupation
- naturalist, lepidopterist, illustrator and ornithologist.
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Documentary summary
William Chapman Hewitson (9 January 1806, in Newcastle upon Tyne – 28 May 1878, in Oatlands Park, Surrey) was a British naturalist. A wealthy collector, Hewitson was particularly devoted to Coleoptera (beetles) and Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) and, also, to birds' nests and eggs. His collection of butterflies, collected by him as well as purchased from travellers throughout the world, was one of the largest and most important of his time.
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Note VALÉORINE
William Chapman Hewitson (1806–1878) was a British illustrator, lepidopterist and naturalist, among other activities. The illustrator was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. William Chapman Hewitson was a member of Linnean Society of London.
Languages used include English. The illustrator received Fellow of the Linnean Society of London.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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wikidata · Q2380448 · wikipedia · William Chapman Hewitson
In this article
Life
Life
He contributed to and published many works on entomology and ornithology and was an accomplished scientific illustrator.
William Hewitson was educated in York. He became a land-surveyor and was for some time employed under George Stephenson on the London and Birmingham Railway. Delicate health and the accession to an ample fortune through the death of a relative led him to give up his profession and he afterwards devoted himself to scientific studies. He lived for a time at Bristol and Hampstead. In 1848 he purchased ten or twelve acres of Oatlands Park, Surrey, and built a house there. He remained at Oatlands for the rest of his life.
Learned societies
Learned societies
Hewitson was a founding member of the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle upon Tyne in 1829, a member of the Entomological Society of London in 1846, the Zoological Society in 1859, and the Linnean Society in 1862.
Works
Works
(1831). British Oology: Being Illustrations of the Eggs of British Birds, With Figures of Each Species, As Far As Practicable, Drawn and Coloured from Nature: Accompanied by Descriptions of the Materials and Situation of Their Nests, Number of Eggs, &c. Published for the author, by Charles Empson, Newcastle upon Tyne. (1851, 1862–1871, 1878). Illustrations of New Species of Exotic Butterflies, Selected Chiefly from the Collections of W. Wilson Saunders and William C. Hewitson. Five volumes. London: John Van Voorst. Hewitson paid for the last volume when the trustees of the British Museum refused. (1862–1878). Illustrations of Diurnal Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae. London: John Van Voorst. Volume 1 Text Volume 2 plates. (1862). Specimen of a Catalogue of Lycaenidae in the British Museum by W.C. Hewitson. London: Printed by order of the Trustees (1867–1868). Descriptions of One Hundred New Species of Hesperidae. London: John Van Voorst with Frederic Moore (1879–1888). Descriptions of New Indian Lepidopterous Insects: From the Collection of the Late Mr. W.S. Atkinson, M.A., F.L.S., &c. Calcutta: The Asiatic Society of Bengal. OCLC 9625544
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1806
William Chapman Hewitson born at Newcastle upon Tyne.
1878
William Chapman Hewitson died in 1878.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Mr W. C. Hewitson. The Ibis Jubilee Supplement. 2. 182–185. 1908.
- 2.Hewitson, William C. Catalogue of the Collection of Diurnal Lepidoptera Formed by the Late William Chapman Hewitson, of Otlands, Walton-On Thames; and Bequeathed by Him to the British Museum. John Van Voorst. 1879.
- 3.Officers of the Society. Transactions of the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham, and New Castle Upon Tyne. 1. iv. 1831.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q2380448: William Chapman HewitsonWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Illustration
5,224 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- William AscroftIllustrator
- William AustinIllustrator
- William Balfour KerIllustrator
- William BoissevainIllustrator
- William DaniellIllustrator
- William Edouard ScottIllustrator
- William Edward Frank BrittenIllustrator
- William GellIllustrator
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