Norman Denbigh Riley CBE

CBE

CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...

 (26 September 1890 London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 - 26 May 1979) was a British entomologist with a special interest in the Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...

 and in particular the Lycaenidae

Lycaenidae

The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...

. For many years he was Keeper of Entomology at the British Museum

British Museum

The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...

.

His first schooling took place at Dulwich College

Dulwich College

Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...

 where his interest in Natural History and Lepidoptera became evident. Richard South

Richard South

Richard South was an English entomologist who specialised in LepidopteraHe wrote A list of butterflies collected by Captain F. M. Bailey in western China, South-Eastern Tibet, and the Mishmi Hills, 1911.J. Bomb. nat. Hist...

, the prominent entomologist was the Riley family's neighbour in Balham

Balham, London

Balham is a neighbourhood of south London, England, and is part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and the London Borough of Lambeth.-History:...

 and encouraged Norman Riley in his hobby. After finishing school Riley enrolled at the Imperial College in order to take a course in entomology, and managed to find work there as a demonstrator under Ray Lankester

Ray Lankester

Sir E. Ray Lankester KCB, FRS was a British zoologist, born in London.An invertebrate zoologist and evolutionary biologist, he held chairs at University College London and Oxford University. He was the third Director of the Natural History Museum, and was awarded the Copley Medal of the Royal...

, who was then Director of the British Museum. At age 21 he was appointed as an Assistant in the Entomology Department.

With the outbreak of war

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 in 1914, Riley joined the Royal Army Service Corps

Royal Army Service Corps

The Royal Army Service Corps was a corps of the British Army. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture and stationery ; administration of...

, and saw service in France. At the end of the war he was discharged with the rank of Captain and resumed his work at the Museum, becoming Keeper of Entomology in 1932. He became dedicated to acquiring gifts and purchases of specimens to expand the collection of the Museum, and succeeded in creating a research resource of international renown.

Because of his easy and affable manner, Riley became popular as a committee-man and competently steered projects through financial and political pitfalls, becoming involved in national and international entomological matters. He served as both secretary and treasurer to the Entomological Society of London between 1926 and 1951, and was elected President in 1952. He was also a charter member of the Lepidopterists' Society and served on their council, being elected Vice-president in 1954 and President in 1958. He also found time to be active in the Zoological Society of London

Zoological Society of London

The Zoological Society of London is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats...

. In 1923, on the retirement of Richard South

Richard South

Richard South was an English entomologist who specialised in LepidopteraHe wrote A list of butterflies collected by Captain F. M. Bailey in western China, South-Eastern Tibet, and the Mishmi Hills, 1911.J. Bomb. nat. Hist...

, his boyhood mentor, Riley took over the running of a small, but popular periodical called Entomologist's Monthly Magazine

Entomologist's Monthly Magazine

The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine is a British entomological journal, first published in 1864. The journal publishes original papers and notes on all orders of insects and terrestrial arthropods from any part of the world, specialising in groups other than Lepidoptera.Although its name would...

.

Works

• 1944 Some British Moths - Norman Denbigh Riley
• 1964 The Department of Entomology of the British Museum, 1904-1964 - Norman Denbigh Riley
• 1970 Butterflies and Moths - Alfred Werner, Josef Bijok edited by Norman Denbigh Riley, New York Studio/The Viking Press
• 1975 A Field Guide to the Butterflies of the West Indies - Norman D. Riley, Quadrangle Publishers ISBN 10: 0812905547
• 1980 A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Britain and Europe - Lionel George Higgins, Norman Denbigh Riley