William Henry Miskin (1842 - 1913) was an Australian solicitor, politician and entomologist.
Born at Guildford, England, William Henry Miskin moved to Victoria, Australia at age 9 and later to Brisbane. He started collecting butterflies as a boy.
He trained as a solicitor and was active in local government, becoming the founding President of the Shire of Toowong in 1880.[1] Miskin Street in Toowong is named after him.[2]
He published numerous taxonomic papers on Lepidoptera from 1874 to 1892, including a description of Coscinocera hercules. In 1891 he published the Synonymical Catalogue of Butterflies of Australia. He was the President of the Royal Society of Queensland in 1890 and a member of the board of trustees of the Queensland Museum.
After having an affair with his domestic servant, he abandoned his wife. His wife divorced him in 1894.[3] She subsequently sold his collection and library were purchased by the Queensland Museum.
Miskin worked as a solicitor in Rockhampton until his death in 1913, taking no further role in public life.[4]