The Great Naturalists
The Great Naturalists
Edited by Robert Huxley
Reviewed by Ray Zimmerman
Robert Huxley took on a monumental task when he agreed to edit this volume, which is as much a history of science as natural history. The collection of essays includes an impressive list of authors, professors of history and science, curators and other notables. Each contributor devoted three to seven pages to one naturalist.
The Age of enlightenment section gave many familiar names, such as Catesby, Bartram, Linnaeus, and Lamarck. Georg Steller sailed east from Kamchatka and described the Steller’s Jay, confirming Russia’s claim to Alaska, is among those described.
Alexander von Humboldt, John James Audubon, Alfred Russell Wallace, Charles Darwin, and Asa Gray are among those featured in the 19th century portion.
The section titled, “The Ancients,” included Aristotle, who described the feeding mechanism of the sea urchin, a structure known today as “Aristotle’s Lantern.” Theophrastus, known as the founder of botany, and Pliny the Elder, whose Historia Naturalis ran to 160 volumes are also included.
Robert Huxley, editor, served as Head of Collections in the Botany Department of the Museum of Natural History at London. He is retired from that post but continues as a consultant and writer
Edited by Robert Huxley
Reviewed by Ray Zimmerman
Robert Huxley took on a monumental task when he agreed to edit this volume, which is as much a history of science as natural history. The collection of essays includes an impressive list of authors, professors of history and science, curators and other notables. Each contributor devoted three to seven pages to one naturalist.
The Age of enlightenment section gave many familiar names, such as Catesby, Bartram, Linnaeus, and Lamarck. Georg Steller sailed east from Kamchatka and described the Steller’s Jay, confirming Russia’s claim to Alaska, is among those described.
Alexander von Humboldt, John James Audubon, Alfred Russell Wallace, Charles Darwin, and Asa Gray are among those featured in the 19th century portion.
The section titled, “The Ancients,” included Aristotle, who described the feeding mechanism of the sea urchin, a structure known today as “Aristotle’s Lantern.” Theophrastus, known as the founder of botany, and Pliny the Elder, whose Historia Naturalis ran to 160 volumes are also included.
Robert Huxley, editor, served as Head of Collections in the Botany Department of the Museum of Natural History at London. He is retired from that post but continues as a consultant and writer
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