The Great Naturalists

The story of natural history as seen through the lives, observations, and discoveries of the world’s greatest naturalists.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the naturalists who described, experimented, collected, and gave us the means to understand the natural world. They came from all over the globe, from classical times to the end of the nineteenth century, when natural history changed from a mainly amateur pursuit to today's specialized scientific profession.

Braving dangers—including storms, pirates, and disease—in pursuit of cataloging the natural world, pioneers such as Alexander von Humboldt and Charles Darwin changed the course of science with their groundbreaking theories. This book includes many naturalists who are well known, such as the earliest great natural historian, Aristotle; Carl Linnaeus, the man who brought order to nature; the ornithologist and painter John James Audubon; and Georges Cuvier, who established the concept of extinction. Others are now given their rightful place: Antony van Leeuwenhoek, who made his own microscopes and discovered bacteria; and Mary Anning, "the princess of paleontology," who had an amazing, self-taught talent for finding fossils.

Many of these people were great artists as well as scientists, and The Great Naturalists is illustrated with a selection of beautiful and precise paintings and drawings of birds, animals, fossils, fish, shells, and rocks from the unparalleled collections of the Natural History Museum, London.

"1102549852"
The Great Naturalists

The story of natural history as seen through the lives, observations, and discoveries of the world’s greatest naturalists.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the naturalists who described, experimented, collected, and gave us the means to understand the natural world. They came from all over the globe, from classical times to the end of the nineteenth century, when natural history changed from a mainly amateur pursuit to today's specialized scientific profession.

Braving dangers—including storms, pirates, and disease—in pursuit of cataloging the natural world, pioneers such as Alexander von Humboldt and Charles Darwin changed the course of science with their groundbreaking theories. This book includes many naturalists who are well known, such as the earliest great natural historian, Aristotle; Carl Linnaeus, the man who brought order to nature; the ornithologist and painter John James Audubon; and Georges Cuvier, who established the concept of extinction. Others are now given their rightful place: Antony van Leeuwenhoek, who made his own microscopes and discovered bacteria; and Mary Anning, "the princess of paleontology," who had an amazing, self-taught talent for finding fossils.

Many of these people were great artists as well as scientists, and The Great Naturalists is illustrated with a selection of beautiful and precise paintings and drawings of birds, animals, fossils, fish, shells, and rocks from the unparalleled collections of the Natural History Museum, London.

12.99 In Stock
The Great Naturalists

The Great Naturalists

by Robert Huxley
The Great Naturalists

The Great Naturalists

by Robert Huxley

eBook

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Overview

The story of natural history as seen through the lives, observations, and discoveries of the world’s greatest naturalists.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the naturalists who described, experimented, collected, and gave us the means to understand the natural world. They came from all over the globe, from classical times to the end of the nineteenth century, when natural history changed from a mainly amateur pursuit to today's specialized scientific profession.

Braving dangers—including storms, pirates, and disease—in pursuit of cataloging the natural world, pioneers such as Alexander von Humboldt and Charles Darwin changed the course of science with their groundbreaking theories. This book includes many naturalists who are well known, such as the earliest great natural historian, Aristotle; Carl Linnaeus, the man who brought order to nature; the ornithologist and painter John James Audubon; and Georges Cuvier, who established the concept of extinction. Others are now given their rightful place: Antony van Leeuwenhoek, who made his own microscopes and discovered bacteria; and Mary Anning, "the princess of paleontology," who had an amazing, self-taught talent for finding fossils.

Many of these people were great artists as well as scientists, and The Great Naturalists is illustrated with a selection of beautiful and precise paintings and drawings of birds, animals, fossils, fish, shells, and rocks from the unparalleled collections of the Natural History Museum, London.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780500774878
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Publication date: 09/24/2019
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 272
File size: 21 MB
Note: This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Robert Huxley is head of collections in the department of botany at the Natural History Museum, London.

Table of Contents

'Unity in Diversity' 8

The Ancients 19

Aristotle: The First Philosopher-Naturalist Julia Brittain 22

Theophrastus: The Father of Botany Christopher J. Humphries David Sutton 27

Pedanios Dioscorides: Recording the Medicinal Use of Plants David Sutton 31

Pliny the Elder: Collector of Knowledge David Sutton 36

The Renaissance 40

Leonhart Fuchs: The Value of Illustrations Brian W. Ogilvie 44

Ulisse Aldrovandi: Observation at First Hand Giuseppe Olmi 51

Andrea Cesalpino: Physician, Philosopher and Botanist Robert Huxley Christopher J. Humphries 55

Pierre Belon: Pioneer of Comparative Anatomy Alan Cutler 58

Konrad Gessner: The Beginnings of Modern Zoology Sachiko Kusukawa 62

The Enlightenment 68

Nicolaus Steno: Unlocking the Earth's Geological Past Alan Cutler 77

John Ray: The English Aristotle Robert Huxley 83

Robert Hooke: Natural History through the Microscope Brian J. Ford 90

Antony van Leeuwenhoek: The Discoverer of Bacteria Brian J. Ford 94

Sir Hans Sloane: The Great Collector Robert Huxley 101

Maria Sibylla Merian: The Metamorphosis of Insects H. Walter Lack 105

Mark Catesby: Colonial Naturalist and Artist Steve Cafferty 109

Carl Linnaeus: The Man Who Brought Order to Nature Christopher. J. Humphries Robert Huxley 115

Comte de Buffon: A Grand Theorist Sandra Knapp 121

Georg Steller: The Discovery of Alaska Robert Press 128

Michel Adanson: A Universal Method of Classification Denis Lamy 132

Erasmus Darwin: Evolutionary beginnings Robert Press 137

William Bartram: Scientific Recorder and Artist Judith Magee 141

Joseph Banks: Voyager and Patron of Natural History Tania Durt 148

Johann Christian Fabricius: Classifier of Insect Diversity R. I. Vane-Wright 156

James Hutton: Discoverer of Geological Time Jill Cook 161

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck: The Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics Sandra Knapp 164

Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu: A New Method of Plant Classification Denis Lamy 171

Georges Cuvier: Extinction and the Animal Kingdom Philippe Taquet 176

The 19th Century 187

William Smith: The Father of English Geology John L. Morton 187

Alexander von Humboldt: A Vision of the Unity of Nature Judith Magee 191

John James Audubon: Artist, Naturalist and Adventurer Roberta J. M. Olson 199

William Buckland: First to Describe a Dinosaur Jill Cook 206

Charles Lyell: Advocate of Modern Geology Jill Cook 210

Mary Arming: Fossil Hunter Crispin Tickell 213

Richard Owen: Champion of Comparative Anatomy David Williams 218

Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz: Examination, Observation, Comparison David Williams 224

Charles Darwin: The Complete Naturalist Keith Thomson 230

Alfred Russel Wallace: The Problem of the Origin of Species Sandra Knapp 240

Asa Gray: The Plants of the American West Sandra Knapp 248

Contributors 253

Further Reading 255

Sources of Illustrations 265

Index 266

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