John Wolley

John Wolley (13 May 1823 – 20 November 1859) was an English naturalist best known for his large collection of bird eggs and studies on the dodo and great auk. Life and work Wolley was born at Matlock on 13 May 1823. His father was Reverend John Hurt and his mother Mary was the daughter of Adam Wolley who was an antiquarian. After the death of his father-in-law in 1827, John Hurt assumed the name of Wolley. John Wolley obtained his early education at Mr. Fletcher's preparatory school in Southwell and then moved to Eton in 1836. He moved in 1842 to Trinity College, Cambridge. He had already become interested in nature and spent a lot of time in the woods and fens around Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire. In 1845 he travelled to Spain. He began to collect the eggs of birds both on his own and through other collectors. He graduated with a BA in January 1846 and moved to London with the intention of studying law at the Middle Temple. He spent a lot of time in the British Museum and took an interest in the study of the dodo, and became acquainted with H. E. Strickland.