The naturalist and traveller Thomas Pennant (1726 98) helped popularise British ornithology by meticulously compiling and arranging existing research. At the age of twelve, Pennant had been given Francis Willughby's Ornithology (1678), to which he credited his lifelong love of natural history. His own writings on ornithology are heavily based on the classification system devised by Willughby and John Ray, which divides birds primarily into land birds and waterfowl. Although Pennant's brief, accessible book brought few original insights to the field, it boosted public interest in the study and...

The author and artist Sarah Lee (1791-1856) was a remarkable traveller and scientist in her own right. With her first husband, Thomas Bowdich, she explored the flora, fauna and local culture of the Asante region and Gabon in west Africa. The pair then went in 1819 to Paris, to study zoology under the famous Cuvier, in preparation for another trip to Africa. They financed their stay by translating French scientific books into English, and became close friends of Cuvier himself. Their second expedition proved a disaster, as Thomas Bowdich died in 1824, leaving Sarah alone in Africa with three...

The naturalist Gilbert White (1720-93) was known for his meticulous observations of flora and fauna in their natural environment, primarily around his village of Selborne in Hampshire. This posthumous 1795 publication, edited by the physician and writer John Aikin (1747-1822), comprises a collection of extracts from White's previously unpublished papers from 1768 to his death. Presented here for 'lovers of natural knowledge' is a full year of White's observations. Following the month-by-month record of natural events, the book contains brief studies of birds, quadrupeds, insects, plants and...

Well versed in natural history, particularly geology and ornithology, Hugh Edwin Strickland (1811-53) became fascinated by the dodo and mankind's influence on its extinction. Seeking to investigate this flightless bird and other extinct species from islands in the Indian Ocean, he invited the comparative anatomist Alexander Gordon Melville (1819-1901) to help him separate myth from reality. Divided into two sections, this 1848 monograph begins with Strickland's evaluation of the evidence, including historical reports as well as paintings and sketches, many of which are reproduced. Melville...

Published in 1901, this illustrated two-volume biography of the renowned English naturalist Gilbert White (1720-93) presents a thorough account of his life and achievements. Prepared by White's great-great-nephew Rashleigh Holt-White (1826-1920), it incorporates a selection of White's correspondence with family and friends, providing valuable insights into his beliefs and character. Included are letters sent by White's lifelong friend John Mulso (1721-91), who praised the naturalist's work, predicting it would 'immortalise' White and his Hampshire village. Still considered a classic text, The...

Published in 1901, this illustrated two-volume biography of the renowned English naturalist Gilbert White (1720-93) presents a thorough account of his life and achievements. Prepared by White's great-great-nephew Rashleigh Holt-White (1826-1920), it incorporates a selection of White's correspondence with family and friends, providing valuable insights into his beliefs and character. Included are letters sent by White's lifelong friend John Mulso (1721-91), who praised the naturalist's work, predicting it would 'immortalise' White and his Hampshire village. Still considered a classic text, The...

The great auk (Pinguinus impennis, formerly Alca impennis), a flightless bird of the north Atlantic, became extinct in the mid-1850s because of over-hunting - apart from being used as a food source and as fish-bait, its down was used for feather beds, and efforts in the early nineteenth century to reduce the slaughter were not effective. The last breeding pair was killed in 1844. This 1885 work by Scottish naturalist and scientist Symington Grieve (1850 1932) collects together 'a considerable amount of literature bearing upon the 'History, Archaeology, and Remains' of this extinct bird'. The...

At the age of thirteen, chemistry enthusiast Justus von Liebig (1803-73) witnessed the devastation caused by a summer of crop failure. Three decades later, Liebig had become a leading German chemist based at the University of Giessen and had made significant contributions to agriculture and medicine in addition to his pioneering work in organic chemistry. This 1842 study in animal metabolism includes detailed analysis of the chemical transformation undergone in healthy and diseased organisms. Although Liebig considers that chemical analysis alone is not sufficient to explain physiological...

English zoologist Philip Henry Gosse (1810 88) spent several years studying the biodiversity of habitats in North America and the Caribbean. His Naturalist's Sojourn in Jamaica (1851) is reissued in this series. When he settled on the Devonshire coast, the area proved equally rich for research. In this 1859 publication, the deeply religious Gosse considers the 'Divine mechanics' of animal body parts and microorganisms seen through the lens of a microscope. He leads the reader through a selection of specimens ranging from a hog's bristle to the shoe-like protist Paramecium. Gosse's writing...

This collection of essays by John Murray, on what might be called the physics of biology, was published in 1826.