Louis Fraser

Louis Fraser (* 1810, † 1866) was a British zoologist and collector.

In his early years Fraser was Curator of the museum of the Zoological Society of London. He attended Allen and Thomson's infamous Niger Expedition 1841-1842 as a scientist of the African Civilization Society in part. After his return, he was responsible for the collection of Lord Derby in Knowsley.

He wrote Zoologica Typica, or figures of the new and rare animals and birds in the collection of the Zoological Society of London, a richly illustrated tome that was published in 1940. In this book he described many new species of birds. 1850 Fraser was appointed Consul of Ouidah, Dahomey. In 1859, he collected birds and mammals in Ecuador for Philip Lutley Sclater of the Zoological Society of London, and the following year in California. On his return to London, he opened a shop in Regent Street for exotic birds. He spent his last years in America.

Writings

• On new species of Birds collected in Western Africa. In: Proceedings of the Committee of Science and Correspondence of the Zoological Society of London. 1843, pp. 3, 16, 34, 51
• Zoologia typica. London 1845.