Posts Tagged ‘natural history’
Maria Sibylla Merian: Remembering the Naturalist and Botanical Illustrator
Milkweed for the Monarchs Today is the anniversary of the death of the naturalist and botanical illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian. She was born on April 2, 1647. As a frame of reference, Isaac Newton was only a few years older than her. Unlike Newton, Merian’s work was largely forgotten over time. However, during the past…
Read MoreWilliam MacGillivray: Scottish Naturalist, Ornithologist, and Tireless Traveler
A Walk to London Today is the birthday of the Scottish artist, naturalist, and ornithologist William MacGillivray (“Mick-ILL-vree”). He once walked 838 miles from Old Aberdeen to London to visit the natural history museum there. Along the way, MacGillivray documented all the flora and fauna he encountered. You can read about it in a book…
Read MoreThoreau’s First Snowfall: Welcoming Winter at Walden Pond
Writing at Walden Pond On this day in 1855, it was starting to snow on Walden Pond, and Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal: “At 8.30 a fine snow begins to fall, increasing very gradually, perfectly straight down, till in fifteen minutes the ground is white, the smooth places first, and thus the winter…
Read MoreHenry David Thoreau’s Autumn Reflections: Observing Nature’s Seasonal Shift
Approaching Winter On this day in 1855, Henry David Thoreau wrote in his journal: “The winter is approaching. The birds are almost all gone. The note of the ‘dee de de’ sounds now more distinct, prophetic of winter, as I go amid the wild apples on Nawshawtuct. The autumnal dandelion sheltered by this apple-tree trunk…
Read MoreCharles Darwin and the Beagle: The Voyage That Shaped Evolutionary Theory
Young Man with an Old Soul On this day in 1836, the HMS Beagle returned to England after a five-year voyage around the world. It was a revelatory trip for ship’s naturalist, Charles Darwin, who found the building blocks to his evolutionary theory in the many fossils and diverse species he discovered on his excursions.…
Read MoreThe Bird Man of Paisley: Remembering Alexander Wilson’s American Legacy
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. August 23, My dearest garden companions and winged-creature enthusiasts, today marks the anniversary of the death of that remarkable Scottish ornithologist and poet, Alexander Wilson. A man after our own hearts, wouldn’t you…
Read MoreAsa Gray: Harvard’s Pioneering Botanist and Defender of Evolution
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. July 22, 1842 On this day, dear garden friend, the esteemed botanist Asa Gray graced Harvard with his arrival, marking the beginning of what would become a most illustrious tenure at America’s oldest…
Read MoreThe Pope of Indian Ornithology: Allan Hume’s Journey from Birds to Botany
A Lifelong Naturalist June 6, 1829 On this day was born Allan Octavian Hume, a British civil servant whose life story reads like a cautionary tale about putting all one’s intellectual eggs in a single, poorly guarded basket. After dedicating more than three decades to service in India, Hume had developed such an affinity for…
Read MoreWoman’s Work: The Revolutionary Taxidermy of Martha Maxwell
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 31, 1881 This day marks the passing of one Martha Maxwell, that diminutive yet formidable force in the realm of taxidermy, who departed this earthly plane on this very day in 1881.…
Read MoreHewett Cottrell Watson: The Father of British Plant Geography and Darwin’s Forerunner
by Hewett Cottrell Watson 21 Nov 1859 My dear Sir Once [I started] to read the ‘Origin’ I could not rest [until] I had galloped through [all of it]. I shall now begin to re-read it more deliberately. Meantime I am tempted to write you [my] first impressions… 1st. Your leading idea will assuredly become…
Read MoreA Voice for Nature: Sir David Attenborough’s Earthly Symphony
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 8, 1926 On this day, the world welcomed a true champion of nature, Sir David Frederick Attenborough, born in a quaint suburb of London, England. Little did anyone know that this babe…
Read MoreSir Hans Sloane: From Plant Collector to National Treasure
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 16, 1660 On this day, dear gardeners, we celebrate the birth of that most extraordinary gentleman, Sir Hans Sloane – physician, naturalist, and collector extraordinaire. One simply cannot overstate the magnitude of…
Read MoreWillis Linn Jepson and the Bloom of a Society
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 12, 1913 On this day, dear readers, within the hushed yet hopeful walls of the Oakland Public Museum, a man of singular vision-Willis Linn Jepson, the Botany Man-summoned a small company to…
Read MoreThe Naturalist Who Brought Goldfish to Holland: Remembering Job Baster
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. April 1, 1711 On this day, Job Baster was born. This remarkable Dutch naturalist was among the first in his country to examine the minute details of flora and fauna through the revealing…
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