Mr George Albert Boulenger (19 October 1858–23 November 1937)

Belgian-British Zoologist. Born in Brussels in 1858, he graduated in 1876 from the Free University in Brussels with a degree in natural sciences. While working as an assistant naturalist studying amphibians, reptiles, and fishes at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, he made frequent visits Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris and the Natural History Museum (then a department of the British Museum) in London. In 1880 he was invited to work at the British Museum by Dr Albert C. L. G. Günther and assigned to the task of cataloguing the amphibians in the collection. His position there meant that he had to be a civil servant of the British Empire, and so became a naturalized British subject. In 1882 he became a first-class assistant in the Department of Zoology and remained in that position until his retirement in 1920. Boulenger was known for his excellent memory and language skills and for being a very hard worker. By 1921, he had published 875 papers totalling more than 5,000 pages, as well as 19 monographs on fishes, amphibians, and reptiles. He was a member of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists and was elected its first honorary member in 1935. In 1937, Belgium conferred on him the Order of Léopold, the highest honour awarded to a civilian. After his retirement from the British Museum, Boulenger returned to Belgium and studied roses and published 34 papers on botanical subjects and two volumes on the roses of Europe. He died in Saint Malo, France. FRS.