Augustus Radcliffe Grote (February 7, 1841 – September 12, 1903) was a British entomologist who described over 1,000 species of butterflies and moths. He is best known for his work on North American Noctuidae.
Early life and family
Grote was born in Aigburth, a suburb of Liverpool, in 1841. His mother was English, and his maternal grandfather, Augustus Radcliffe, was a partner in the house of Sir Joseph Bailey. Grote was a first cousin on his mother's side to Ethel Romanes. He attended school under Joseph Deghuée where he became childhood friends with Edward Graef and Frederick Tepper, both of whom who also became entomologists. Grote's interest in entomology, and moths in particular, began at a young age as he explored the natural areas around his home on Staten Island with Graef and Tepper. An economic downturn in 1857 resulted in significant financial distress for the family and prevented Augustus' planned attendance at Harvard University.
From Buffalo, Grote moved to Demopolis, Alabama where he studied the cotton worm and lobbied for increased attention to the problems it caused for cotton production. His lobbying efforts were initially unsuccessful.
He published many articles, primarily on North American Lepidoptera, in the Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural History, The Canadian Entomologist, and numerous other journals.