Robert Francis Scharff

Robert Francis Scharff (9 July 1858 – 13 September 1934) was an English zoologist, known for his lifetime of work in Ireland and contributions to the understanding of Irish flora and fauna. He was acting director of the National Museum of Ireland from 1916 to 1922.

Life Scharff was born in Leeds on 9 July 1858 to German parents. He studied at University College London for a B.Sc., and furthered those studies at the universities of Edinburgh with an MA graduating in 1885, and Heidelberg where he completed a Ph.D. From there he went on to study at St. Andrews Biological Station in New Brunswick and Stazione Zoologica in Naples. In the years after 1916 and the resignation of George Noble Plunkett as Director of the National Museum of Ireland Scharff became the acting Director until his retirement in 1922. He was a vocal proponent of the land-bridge hypothesis of animal migration. Scharff was a well-known figure in his time receiving many honours like the prize of Emperor Nicholas II in 1897, and he holding the Swiney lectureship in geology in London in 1906 and 1908. the Linnean Society and the Zoological Society of London. He collected zoological specimens extensively, He still remained an active member of Irish zoological groups until his death in 1934.

Published works The History of the European Fauna (1899) European Animals: Their Geological History and Geographical Distribution (1907) Distribution and origin of life in America (1912)