Saunders, William Wilson (1809-1879)

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
WILLIAM WILSON SAUNDERS, F.R.S., F.L.S., &c., who, as we stated last week, died on September 13, was born June 4, 1809, the son of the Rev. James Saunders, Vicar of Kirtlington. He was educated at Addiscombe, and went to India as an engineer officer in the Hon

William Wilson Saunders ( 4 June 1809 – 13 September 1879) 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.

TAXONOMIC PUBLICATIONS

 * [[Media:Saunders 1842.pdf| Saunders, W. W. 1842 [1841]. Descriptions of two hymenopterous insects from northern India. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 3: 57-58.]]