Edmond de Selys Longchamps

1813–1900 (age 87)

Biography

Baron Michel Edmond de Selys Longchamps (25 May 1813 – 11 December 1900) was a Belgian Liberal Party politician and scientist. Selys Longchamps has been regarded as the founding figure of odonatology, the study of the dragonflies and damselflies. His wealth and influence enabled him to amass one of the finest collections of neuroptera insects and to describe many species from around the world. His collection is housed in the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.