William Theobald

Members of the Geological Survey of India in 1870: F. Stoliczka, R. B. Foote, W. Theobald, F. R. Mallet, V. Ball, W. Waagen, W. L. Wilson (standing); A. Tween, W. King, T. Oldham, H. B. Medlicott, C. A. Hackett (sitting) William Theobald (1829 – 31 March 1908) was a malacologist and naturalist on the staff of the Geological Survey of India serving in Burma, then a part of British India. From 1868 to 1876 he described a dozen new species of reptiles.

Theobald was the first to publish a full catalogue of reptile specimens collected in British India, Descriptive Catalogue of the Reptiles of British India (1876), Theobald's work on Indian freshwater snails with illustrations was one of the first of its kind. He even made his shell collections available to Francis Mason for his epic work on the flora and fauna of British Burma titled Burmah, its People and Natural Productions. The third edition of this work was completely rewritten by Theobald and was published in two volumes under the title Burma, its people and productions; or notes on the fauna, flora and minerals of Tenasserim, Pegu and Burma (Hertford, England, 1882 & 1883).