The Dictionary of Australasian Biography/Macleay, William Sharp
Macleay, William Sharp, M.A., F.R.S., F.L.S., eldest son of the late Hon. Alexander Macleay, M.L.C., F.R.S., was born in London on July 21st, 1792, and educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated with honours. In 1815 he was appointed Secretary to the Board of British Claims, arising out of the conclusion of the French war. In 1825 he was appointed Commissioner and Judge in the Mixed Tribunal of Justice at the Havannah. Ten years later he retired on a pension, and in 1839 arrived in New South Wales, where he was appointed a Trustee of the Australian Museum and a member of the National Board of Education. For a short time also he was a member of the Executive Council, under Sir William Denison. Mr. Macleay, who died on Jan. 26th, 1865, made entomology his principal study, but he was recognised as an authority on geology and zoology.