Alston, Edward R. (Edward Richard), 1845-1881

Edward Richard Alston was born on December 1, 1845, in Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, Scotland.

He was a Scottish zoologist who, due to his delicate health in his youth, primarily educated himself at home. He made significant contributions to the Zoologist and various Scottish magazines, eventually becoming a recognized authority on mammals and birds. His notable papers in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society (1874–80) focused on rodents, particularly American squirrels (1878 and 1879). Additionally, he wrote the Mammalia section in Salvin and Godman's Biologia Centrali-Americana, which was incomplete at the time of his death. In 1880, he was elected Zoological Secretary of the Linnean Society, a position he held until his death from acute phthisis. In 1874, he provided substantial assistance to Prof. T. Bell in the second edition of British Quadrupeds. All of Alston's papers are esteemed for their value, conciseness, and clarity.

He died on March 7, 1881, in Middlesex, England.