Johannes Bastiaan Corporaal

Johannes Bastiaan Corporaal (23 April 1880 – 28 May 1952) was a Dutch entomologist who specialised in Coleoptera. Corporaal was considered a world authority on the beetle family Cleridae.[1]

Johannes Bastiaan Corporaal
Born(1880-04-23)23 April 1880
Died28 May 1952(1952-05-28) (aged 72)
Occupation

Biography

edit

Corporaal was born at The Hague on 23 April 1880.[2][3] His parents were an Official, Gerard Cornelis Corporaal (also known as Cornelis Gerardus Korporaal) and Anna Corporaal (née van Hunsel), who were married on 21 June 1877.[3][4]

Corporaal's early education was at the Technische Hogeschool in Delft; he then moved to Wageningen for studies at the National Agricultural School, hoping to go on to work in Indonesia (then the Dutch East Indies).[2] He received his Agricultural diploma on 5 July 1902.[2]

In 1903 Corporaal traveled to Indonesia, where he worked first at Java and then at Sumatra[2] as an assistant tobacco planter[3] at plantations belonging to the company Senembah Maatschappij.[2] From 1912 Corporaal was Manager of a tea and rubber plantation in Java.[3] Corporaal's work involved using his agricultural and entomological training to try to combat crop pests, and he studied beetles in his spare time.[2]

In April–June 1915 Corporaal collected several weevils from the family Anthribidae which he sent for identification to Karl Jordan at the Tring Museum in Hertfordshire, U.K.[5]

Corporaal suffered from a period of ill-health circa 1915 which caused him to return to the Netherlands where he met his future wife, Annie van Rienderhoff.[2] They were married at Penang. Malaysia on 22 August 1917.[3] Corporaal had a five-year contract to work as an entomologist at the Dutch rubber-planter research station near Medan, Sumatra [Algemeene Vereeniging van Rubberplanters ter Oostkust van Sumatra (A.V.R.O.S.)].[2][3] After Corporaal's contract ended in 1921 he and Annie returned to the Netherlands, settling in Amsterdam, where Corporaal took a job as an entomological curator at the Amsterdam Zoological Museum.[2]

In 1928 Corporaal attended the fourth International Congress of Entomology in Ithaca, New York as a representative of the Amsterdam Zoological Museum and the Netherlands.[6] He appears as attendee number 51 in the official Congress photograph.

Corporaal built up a personal collection of Cleridae specimens during his career which contained 1200 different types and forms, with around 17,000 specimens in total.[2] After his death these were donated to the Amsterdam Zoological Museum.[2]

Select publications

edit
  • Corporaal, J.B. "Notes systématiques et synonymiques sur les Clérides (2me communication sur les Clérides)", Tijdschrift voor Entomologie, volume 67, pages 195-196 (1924)[7]
  • Corporaal, J.B.: "Remarks on some South African Cleridae in the British Museum (7th communication on Cleridae)", Tijdschrift voor Entomologie, volume 69, pages 318-319 (1926)[8]
  • Corporaal, J.B.: "Further notes on Cleridae. (11th communication on Cleridae)", Tijdschrift voor Entomologie, volume 76, pages 155-188 (1933)[9]
  • Corporaal, J.B.: "Notes on some Cleridae in the Hamburg Zoological Museum (21st Communication on Cleridae)", Tijdschrift voor Entomologie, volume 84, pages 359-361 (1941)[10]

References

edit
  1. ^ Arnett, Ross H. (August 1952). "Death Notice [Dr. Johannes Bastiaan Corporaal]". The Coleopterists Bulletin. 6 (4): 62. JSTOR 3998522 – via JSTOR.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k van der Wiel, P. (1953). "In memoriam Johannes Bastiaan Corporaal. 23 april 1880 - 28 mei 1952". Tijdschrift voor Entomologie (in Dutch). 96: 1–7 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  3. ^ a b c d e f World Biography: Who's Important in Every Field [entry for Corporaal, Johannes Bastiaan]. Vol. 1. Institute for Research in Biography. 1947. p. 947.
  4. ^ "BS Huwelijk met Cornelis Gerardus Corporaal". wiewaswie.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  5. ^ Jordan, Karl (1916). "Anthribidae (Coleoptera) collected by J. B. Corporaal on Java and Sumatra". Tijdschrift voor Entomologie. 59: 160–162 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  6. ^ Jordan, K; Horn, W, eds. (March 1930). "Foreign Membership: 229". Fourth International Congress of Entomology, Ithaca August 1928: Volume I: Proceedings. I: 41 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  7. ^ Corporaal, J B (1924). "Notes systématiques et synonymiques sur les Clérides (2me communication sur les Clérides)". Tijdschrift voor Entomologie (in French). 67: 195–196 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  8. ^ Corporaal, J B (1926). "Remarks on some South African Cleridae in the British Museum (7th communication on Cleridae)". Tijdschrift voor Entomologie. 69: 318–319 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  9. ^ Corporaal, J B (1933). "Further notes on Cleridae. (11th communication on Cleridae)". Tijdschrift voor Entomologie. 76: 115–118 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  10. ^ Corporaal, J B (1941). "Notes on some Cleridae in the Hamburg Zoological Museum (21st Communication on Cleridae)". Tijdschrift voor Entomologie. 84: 359–361 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.