John William Douglas

John William Douglas (15 November 1814 – 28 July 1905) was an English entomologist, chiefly interested in microlepidoptera.

He was popularly known as "Jolly" Douglas for his ability to produce jocular doggerel in the style of Longfellow's Hiawatha.

In a schoolboy prank gone wrong, a fellow student dropped a match into his pocket which contained crackers resulting in serious injury to his leg.

He became interested in insects whilst working at Kew Gardens and published many papers and books on entomology.

His most important work was The Natural History of the Tineina with the German Philipp Christoph Zeller, Englishman Henry Tibbats Stainton and a Swiss, Heinrich Frey.

Portrait of John William Douglas, published in The British Naturalist