William Wilson Saunders

Who was William Wilson Saunders?

William Wilson Saunders FRS was a British insurance broker, entomologist and botanist.

Saunders was an underwriter at Lloyd's of London. He served as President of the Entomological Society from 1841 to 1842 and again from 1856 to 1857, was Treasurer of the Linnean Society of London from 1861 to 1873 and was a Fellow of the Royal Society from 1853.

Saunders who lived at Reigate was also a well known horticulturalist. His entomological interests centred on Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera but his collection contained insects from all orders.

Saunder’s Diptera collection contained many new species. These were described in a series of papers by Francis Walker entitled Insecta Saundersiana.

"Nearly two thousand of my Coleoptera, and many hundreds of my butterflies, have been already described by various eminent naturalists, British and foreign; but a much larger number remains undescribed. Among those to whom science is most indebted for this laborious work, I must name Mr. F. P.