Thomas Workman (entomologist)
Thomas Workman (14 August 1843 – 11 May 1900) was an Irish entomologist and arachnologist who travelled widely collecting butterflies and studying spiders.[1] He is best known for his book Malaysian Spiders, published in 1896, in which he described several new species.
Biography
Thomas Workman was born at Ceara, Windsor Avenue, Belfast, Ireland on 14 August 1843 into a wealthy family involved in muslin, linen and commerce.
Business
Thomas was the elder brother of Frank Workman, born in 1856. The brothers co-founded the Belfast shipyard of Workman Clark in 1880.[1] Thomas became a successful businessman, at first in the linen trade and then in shipbuilding. He was vice-chairman of Workman Clark and director of the Irish Weaving Company, as well as being a Justice of the Peace.[2]
Nature
Workman had an interest in insects from a young age and was encouraged by one of his teachers.[2] Aside from his work on spiders, especially those of the Far East, he was also a lepidopterist.
Travel
In 1869 Workman travelled in North America, spending his time mainly in the West, much with native tribes. His trip journals and accounts of the natural history of the American plains and Native Americans (Thomas Workman, Illustrated Notebook, Letters from the Far West) are now in the Public Records Office in Belfast. His collection of North American Indian artefacts is in the Ulster Museum. Each year, when business and family permitted, Workman spent lengthy periods in foreign lands, collecting insects, especially butterflies and spiders.
He travelled around the world for the rest of his life. His most significant trips were;
Societies
He was, as well as being actively involved in the civic administration of Belfast, the Honorary Librarian of the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society becoming president in 1898. He was a member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Their 1852 meeting was held in his warehouse on Belfast's Bedford Street.
Death
He died in St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A in 1900, having caught a chill en route from Vancouver following a trip to the Rocky Mountains.[3]
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Family and legacy
He married Margaret Elliot and they had seven children; their son Robert was president of the Linen Hall Library for over 20 years.[2]
Achievements
He had an extensive world butterfly collection including specimens purchased from Hans Fruhstorfer and Otto Staudinger. Included are specimens figured in Macrolepidoptera of the World. A systematic description of the hitherto known Macrolepidoptera, edited in collaboration with well-known specialists published in Stuttgart by Alfred Kermen. edited by Adalbert Seitz.
Contacts
- Octavius Pickard-Cambridge (1828–1917) England
- Tord Tamerlan Teodor Thorell (1830–1901) Sweden
- Adalbert Seitz (1860–1938) Germany
Spiders named after Workman
- Damarchus workmanii Thorell
- Theridium workmanii Thorell [1]
- Phidippus workmanii Peckham & Peckham
- Goleta workmanii Peckham & Peckham
Published works
Collections
- Campbell College, Belfast: Lepidoptera
- Ulster Museum, Belfast: Lepidoptera
- National Museum of Ireland, Dublin Irish spiders: Lepidoptera
- Natural History Museum, London World spiders: Lepidoptera
His ethnographic collections are in the Ulster Museum in Belfast. He also donated a collection to the National Museum in Dublin.[1]
Correspondence
Workman's correspondence, diaries etc. are in the Public records Office Belfast.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Newmann, Kate. "Thomas Workman (1843 - 1900): Shipbuilder and arachnologist". New Ulster Biography. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Byrne, Patricia M. (1 October 2009). "Workman, Thomas". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ Finnegan, Diarmid A. 2015 Webs of Science, Webs of Commerce. The Life-Worlds of a Merchant Naturalist In Spaces of Global Knowledge ImprintRoutledge eBook ISBN 9781315610207
- Irish Naturalist 9:241
- Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society Centennial Volume 1821-1891 144pp., portrait.