Leonard Tesch
- Born
- 1 January 1800
The Amateur Entomologists Society was founded in 1935 by Leonard Tesch and it was originally called The Entomological Exchange & Correspondence Club. The first journal was released in August 1935.
From the age of five, Tesch was interested in insects and entomology, and as a child he remembers catching flies on a window and examining them with a small reading glass.
Throughout school and subsequent years, he became increasingly interested in invertebrate zoology. He experienced difficulty in breeding insects and information regarding insect breeding was not readily available in text books, so he contacted other entomologists to collate and exchange information. This became the Amateur Entomologists Society (AES).
Journals continued to be produced, financed only by Tesch, however in 1936 his business failed and he was forced to seek alternative work. He had to give up all duties involved with the Club but he remained as a member.
His new job took him away from London, and he no longer had time to continue his entomological studies. In 1937, a member suggested that he should become the President of the Club, but he declined, however in January 1939, he became the first President of the Society, which was named the Amateur Entomologists’ Society.
When our founder the late L.R. Tesch 'laid the egg' half a century ago, he little realised that today his offspring would be one of the largest and most vigorous Entomological Societies in the World.
His presidency was suspended from 1939 to 1945 due to the Wartime Constitution. After the war he was re-elected as President from 1946-47.
Every year the AES hold the Leonard Tesch Lecture at their Member’s Day to commemorate their founder. The lecture is delivered by a guest speaker and can cover any aspect of entomology.