Dalibert, Maurice

Maurice Dalibert was a French magistrate and amateur entomologist based in Caen who devoted much of his later life to the study of the region’s insect fauna. Before turning his attention to entomology, he pursued a distinguished legal career. In 1917, he received a doctorate from the Université de Caen for his influential dissertation, Le droit normand actuel, which examined the continuing relevance of traditional Norman private law. He subsequently practised as an attorney before the Court of Appeal in Caen and later served as a juge de paix (justice of the peace).

During the early 1920s, Dalibert increasingly focused on natural history and became an important figure in Norman entomology. He was instrumental in founding the Société normande d’Entomologie and developed a particular interest in Lepidoptera, the order that includes butterflies and moths. Among his contributions was the paper Première note sur les collections de Normandie formées par des entomologistes décédés, which sought to document, trace, and safeguard insect collections assembled by deceased entomologists from Normandy.