Biographical entry Thompson, Edward Henry (1851 - 1928)

Summary

Edward Henry Thompson migrated to Australia in 1870 and worked as a reader in the Anglican dioceses of Melbourne and Ballarat. In 1878 he was ordained and appointed rector of Tasmania's Huon district, establishing his home in Franklin. After twenty years in this post he moved to Hobart and became rector of St John's Baptist Church. Throughout his life, Reverend Thompson had a fascination with biology and nature. While in Franklin, he spent much of his free time pursuing his horticultural and entomological interests. Thompson soon developed an expertise in the pests and funguses attacking the local orchards and in 1891 was appointed entomologist and scientific adviser to the Tasmanian Council/Department of Agriculture. In this role he researched insecticides and fungicides and their delivery methods, and helped restore the local orchard industry. Thompson was also a member of the American Association of Economic Entomology and author of two handbooks.

Details

Events

1870

Life event - Migrated to Australia (Melbourne)

1870 - 1875

Career position - Stipendiary licensed reader in the Anglican dioceses of Melbourne and Ballarat

1875

Career position - Appointed Deacon and moved to Tasmania

1875 - 1876

Career position - Locum at the Anglican mission in Levuka, Fiji

1876 - 1878

Career position - Curate of D'Entrecasteaux in Port Cygnet in Tasmania

1878

Career position - Ordained a priest

1878 - 1908

Career position - Rector of the Huon district of Tasmania with residency in Franklin

1891 - 1896

Career position - Entomologist and scientific adviser to the Council of Agriculture in Tasmania

1892

Career position - A Handbook to the Insect Pests on Farm and Orchard published

1895

Career position - Insect and Fungus Pests of the Field, Farm and Garden published

1896 - 1899

Career position - Unpaid advisor to the Department of Agriculture

1908 - 1924

Career position - Rector of St John's Baptist Church in Hobart

1924

Career position - Retired from the priesthood

1927

Life event - Moved to Sydney

Published resources

Books

• Musgrave, A., Bibliography of Australian Entomology, 1775-1930, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales., Sydney, 1932, 380 pp. Details

Book Sections

• McQuillan, Peter B.; Semmens, Trevor D., 'Thompson, Edward Henry (1851-1928), Entomologist and Anglican Clergyman', in John Ritchie (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 12, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1990, p. 209. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A120227b.htm. Details

Online Resources

• 'Thompson, Edward Henry', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1467844. Details