William Eling (naturalist)

In William Swainson's Naturalist's Guide, published in 1822, Eling was listed as a commercial naturalist and resident at High Street, Deptford (Eling's home was at number 5 High Street).^[7][6]

Eling knew John Edward Gray of the British Museum and in May 1839 loaned Gray coral and "sea egg" (sea urchin) specimens for a lecture at the Greenwich Branch of the Society for Acquisition and Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, for which Eling received a vote of thanks at the end of the evening.^[8] During the 1840s the British Museum's registers show a series of regular purchases of marine specimens from Eling (these specimens are now in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London): e.g. specimens collected from the HMS Sulphur, and corals.^[9][10][11]

The shell collector Abraham Lincolne of Islington (d. 1849), whose collection was donated to the Royal Museum in Salford, also purchased specimens from Eling.^[12]

In the second edition of William Swainson's Naturalist's Guide, Eling's last name is given as Ealing and his address as given as Butt Lane, Deptford:^[13] Eling had not actually changed address – Butt Lane was renamed in about 1825 and became Deptford High Street.^[14] It is not known who submitted the correction to Swainson and it is not certain how Eling preferred to spell his own name, as the alternate spellings Eling and Ealing can both be found in the historical record. This wiki biography uses "Eling" as it is the version of his last name which appears in more official sources (e.g. the England Census returns of 1841 and 1851,^[4][5] and his will).^[6]