Albany Hancock, English naturalist, biologist and supporter of Charles Darwin, was born on Christmas Eve in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Education
He was educated at The Royal Grammar School, before being articled to a local solicitor. He completed the expected period in articles and passed all the required examinations to become a solicitor himself, even going so far as to acquire an office in Newcastle with a view to establishing his own practice.
Career
Albany Hancock was brother to the naturalist John Hancock. His true interests lay elsewhere, and after a brief period of employment with a manufacturing firm, dedicated the rest of his life to his true calling, natural history. The in Newcastle upon Tyne is named after the Hancock brothers, both of whom took an instrumental part in getting the museum built.
The museum contains many specimens from their collections.