Mark Catesby
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2008-06-23T17:59:38Z
Katharineamy
2590656
Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/202.60.56.246|202.60.56.246]] ([[User talk:202.60.56.246|talk]]) to last version by Abh9h
[[Image:Catesby Mark Natural History 1731.png|thumb|250px|right|Plate from ''Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands'' (1731-1743).]]
'''Mark Catesby''' ([[April 3]], [[1683]] - December [[1749]]) was an [[England|English]] [[natural history|naturalist]]. Between 1731 and 1743 Catesby published his ''Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands'', the first published account of the [[Flora (plants)|flora]] and [[Fauna (animals)|fauna]] of [[North America]]. It included 220 plates of [[bird]]s, [[reptile]]s and [[Amphibia|amphibians]], [[fish]], [[insect]]s, and [[mammal]]s.
==Life and works==
Catesby was baptized at [[Castle Hedingham]], [[Essex]]. His father was a [[lawyer]] and gentleman [[farmer]]. An acquaintance with the naturalist [[John Ray]] led to his becoming interested in [[natural history]]. Catesby studied natural history in [[London]] before going to stay with his sister in [[Williamsburg, Virginia]] in 1712. The death of his father six years earlier had left him enough to live on. After a visit to the [[West Indies]] in 1714, he returned to Virginia, and then home to England in 1719.
Catesby had collected seeds and botanical specimens in Virginia, which he had sent to a [[Hoxton]] nurseryman. [[Thomas Fairchild]] [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Fairchild]. This made his name known to other scientists in England, and in 1722 he was recommended by [[William Sherard]] to undertake a plant-collecting expedition to [[Province of Carolina|Carolina]] on behalf of the [[Royal Society]]. Catesby settled in [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charlestown]], and traveled to other parts of eastern North America and the [[West Indies]], collecting [[plant]]s and birds. Many of these specimens were sent to [[Hans Sloane]] in London. Catesby returned to England in 1726.
Catesby spent the next seventeen years preparing his ''Natural History''. Publication was financed by an interest-free loan from one of the fellows of the Royal Society, the Quaker [[Peter Collinson FRS|Peter Collinson]]. Catesby was the first to use folio-sized coloured plates in natural history books. He learnt how to etch the plates himself. The first eight plates had no backgrounds, but from then on Catesby included plants with his animals. He completed the first volume in 1731, and in February 1733 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. The second volume was completed in 1743, and in 1746 he produced a supplement from material sent to him by friends in America, particularly [[John Bartram]]. Catesby died just before Christmas 1749, and was buried on December 23rd.
[[Carolus Linnaeus]] included much of the information in the ''Natural History'' in the 10th edition of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' (1758).
==Works==
*Mark Catesby (1731). ''The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and (v1)''. [http://www.rarebookroom.org/Control/catthf/index.html Online scanned edition] from [[Rare Book Room]].
*Mark Catesby (1743). ''The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and (v2)''. [http://www.rarebookroom.org/Control/catthg/index.html Online scanned edition] from [[Rare Book Room]].
*Mark Catesby (1743). ''The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahamas''. [http://www.rowanpubliclibrary.org/HistoryRoom/Catesby/page_one.htm Digital Collection] from [http://www.rowanpubliclibrary.org Rowan Public Library].
*Mark Catesby, ''The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahamas [http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma02/amacker/etext/home.htm Electronic edition: high quality images and user-friendly text] from the American Studies Programs at the University of Virginia
==References==
* Jackson, Christine E. ''Bird Etchings. The Illustrators and Their Books, 1655-1855'' (ISBN 0-8014-9684-5)
* Walters, Michael ''A Concise History of Ornithology.'' (ISBN 1-873403-97-6)
==see also==
* [[List of wildlife artists]]
{{Commons|Mark Catesby}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catesby, Mark}}
[[Category:1683 births]]
[[Category:1749 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Essex]]
[[Category:English botanists]]
[[Category:English naturalists]]
[[Category:English ornithologists]]
[[Category:Bird artists]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society]]
[[Category:Natural history of the Bahamas]]
[[Category:Natural history of Florida]]
[[Category:Natural history of North Carolina]]
[[Category:Natural history of South Carolina]]
[[Category:Natural history of the Caribbean]]
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