Edgar von Harold
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Edgar von Harold | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 30 May 1830 |
| Died | 1 August 1886 (aged 56) |
| Known for | Catalogus Coleopterorum |
Baron Edgar von Harold (30 May 1830 – 1 August 1886)[1] was an influential Scarabaeidae expert and entomologist who was active in the 19th century.[2] He worked along with Max Gemminger to produce a twelve-volume catalogue of beetles.
Edgar von Harold was born in Munich to a German family with Irish origins. He completed his early education at the court of the Bavarian King from where he graduated in the year 1848.[2] In 1848 Harold joined the Royal Guard of the King of Bavaria where he would serve for twenty years. During this period he participated in the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War. He was injured in Kissingen. At the end of his military career, Harold was sent on a trip to the coast of Spain and Morocco, to study the local insect fauna. After his retirement from the Royal Guard, Harold devoted his time fully to entomology.[1]
One of the major contributions by Harold was the Catalogus Coleopterorum,[3] which he co-authored with his friend Max Gemminger.[1] They started the work in 1868 and the last volume of the work was published in 1876. He edited the Coleopterische Hefte (1867-1879) and the Mittheilungen des Münchener Entom. Vereins (1877-1881) while also serving as a curator of the entomological section of the Berlin Museum from 1877 to 1880. Poor eyesight prevented him from continuing and he died from a stomach cancer.
