Talk:William Elford Leach

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Comment: this picture is incompatible with the given dates for Leach, ie it is a photograph and the costume is late Victorian —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.66.130 (talk • contribs) 15:30, 19 March 2009

Bonfires at the Natural History Museum, London?
The article on the Natural History Museum, London states that

"Most of the Sloane collection had disappeared by the early decades of the nineteenth century. Sir George Shaw (Keeper of Zoology 1806–13) sold many specimens to the Royal College of Surgeons. His successor, William Elford Leach, made periodical bonfires in the grounds of the museum.[4]"

The reference says "Edwards E. 1870. Lives of the founders of the British Museum. London." The book exists, but I was unable to find a mention of Leach in it: I could have missed the page, or this could be a mis-citation. I couldn't find corroborating evidence, but there are two suggestive facts. It is certain that Sloane's natural history collection, barring the plants, suffered losses. Leach certainly also became ill enough to force him to retire: this could have been a mental illness, which could have led him to tidy the collection by burning (decayed?) parts of it, but I haven't found proof of that, either. It'd be interesting to know. Chiswick Chap (talk) 16:01, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

Reply: Edwards mentions Leach at pp. 575-6 (the Index in Edwards says, incorrectly, 573) but appears to confuse him with Shaw. It was Shaw who was prone to burning decayed specimens in the garden. He referred to these fires as his 'cremations' according to his assistant Charles König when he gave evidence before the House of Commons investigation into the British Museum in 1835. Having said that, Leach applied to the trustees of the museum several times to destroy decayed material, as did his successors. At the beginning of the 19th century duplicates and material unfit for public display were kept in the museum's damp basement and frequently deteriorated beyond rescue. Harrison & Smith (see references for Leach article) cover this at pp. 265-6. JordiYiman (talk) 00:49, 23 November 2014 (UTC)


 * Ah, how fascinating. I suspected something was amiss. The passage in Natural History Museum, London will need to be amended; and something might be said at George Shaw too. Of course a paragraph could be added to William Elford Leach about the misattribution, with a link to Shaw. All the best, Chiswick Chap (talk) 08:43, 23 November 2014 (UTC)

"Leach." listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leach.&redirect=no Leach.] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached. Fram (talk) 09:52, 28 September 2023 (UTC)