George Bowdler Buckton facts for kids

George Bowdler Buckton (born May 24, 1818, in London – died September 25, 1905, in Haslemere, Surrey) was an English scientist. He was a talented chemist and an entomologist, which means he studied insects. He was especially known for his work on tiny insects called aphids.

George Buckton's Early Life

George Buckton was born in London. When he was five years old, he had an accident that caused him to be partly paralyzed for the rest of his life. Because of this, he couldn't go to a regular school. Instead, he was taught at home.

Even though he couldn't go to school, George was a very smart person. He became good at studying old languages like Latin and Greek. He was also a skilled musician and a talented painter.

In 1848, he started working as an assistant to a famous chemist named August Wilhelm von Hofmann. They worked together at the Royal College of Chemistry in London. In 1867, George married Mary Ann Odling. They had a daughter named Alice Buckton, who grew up to be a poet. George even designed his own house in Haslemere and built an observatory there to look at the stars! A famous poet, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, lived nearby.

Discoveries in Chemistry

George Buckton started his scientific career as a chemist. His first paper was published in 1852. He wrote about how different chemicals react with each other. He also worked with August Wilhelm von Hofmann on some of his chemistry research.

One of his important discoveries was about a chemical called tetra-ethyl lead. This chemical was later used to help car engines run more smoothly. He wrote many papers about his chemistry findings until 1865.

George Buckton was a member of important scientific groups. He joined the Chemical Society in 1852. In 1857, he was chosen to be a member of the Royal Society, which is a very old and respected group for scientists.

Studying Insects

After 1865, George Buckton moved to Haslemere and started focusing on studying insects, especially a group called Hemiptera. This group includes insects like aphids and cicadas. He joined the Linnaean Society in 1845 and the Entomological Society in 1883.

He wrote several important books about insects:

• Monograph of the British Aphides (four volumes, 1876-1883): This was a big project about all the different types of aphids found in Britain.
• Monograph of the British Cicadae or Tettigidae (two volumes, 1890-1891): This book was about cicadas, which are insects known for their loud buzzing sounds.
• The Natural History of Eristalis tenax or the Drone-Fly (1895): This book focused on a specific type of fly that looks like a bee.
• A Monograph of the Membracidae (1901-1903): This work was about treehoppers, which are insects with unique shapes.

What People Thought of George Buckton

The poet Alfred Lord Tennyson, who was George Buckton's neighbor, once described him as having a "Truly a devoted, spiritual, knightly nature, with a faith as clear as the height of the pure blue heaven." This shows that people saw George Buckton as a very good and honest person.