William Bullock (c. 1773 – 7 March 1849) was an English traveller, natural history specimen collector, showman, and antiquarian. He established what was called Bullock's Museum, first in Liverpool which he then moved to London. He established Egyptian Hall where he held popular exhibitions. His collections were publicly auctioned in 1819. A few animal species were described on the basis of specimens from his collection. These include the birds Merops bulocki and Bullock's oriole Icterus bullockii (named after him and his namesake son).
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Life
Little is known of Bullock's early life. He came from a family that held travelling shows of waxworks. He had at least three brothers of whom George was particularly close. George was a sculptor, cabinetmaker and mason who died in 1818 while working on furnishing the home of Sir Walter Scott. William began as a goldsmith and jeweller in Birmingham. From the 1790s to 1891 he ran a home museum in Sheffield. By 1795, Bullock was in Liverpool, where he founded a Museum of Natural Curiosities at 24 Lord Street. While still trading as a jeweller and goldsmith, in 1801, he published a descriptive catalogue (Companion to Bullock's Museum) of the works of art, armoury, objects of natural history, and other curiosities in the collection, some of which had been brought back by members of James Cook's expeditions. He was supplying animals both live and preserved to Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby. In 1809, Bullock moved to London and the collection, housed first at 22 Piccadilly and in 1812 in the newly built Piccadilly Egyptian Hall, proved extremely popular. In 1816 his financial situation improved when he purchased Napoleon's carriage which was captured in Waterloo. He exhibited it in the hall along with paintings and materials which became a major attraction earning him £35000. With this he was able to create a new Roman Gallery. His collections, which included over 32,000 items, were disposed of by auction in 1819. Some of these specimens were acquired and are held at the Royal Scottish Museum.