Parson-naturalists were ministers of religion who also studied natural history. The archetypical parson-naturalist was a priest in the Church of England in charge of a country parish, who saw the study of science as an extension of his religious work. The philosophy entailed the belief that God, as the Creator of all things, wanted man to understand his Creations and thus to study them through scientific techniques.Armstrong, 2000. They often collected and preserved natural artefacts such as leaves, flowers, birds' eggs, birds, insects, and small mammals to classify and study. Some wrote books or kept nature diaries.
Parson-naturalists + Leading parson-naturalists Name Dates Description Known for Portrait Turner, WilliamRaven, Charles E. 1947. English naturalists from Neckam to Ray: a study of the making of the modern world. Cambridge. p38 1508?–1568 Dean of Wells Cathedral HerbalismLibellus de Re Herbaria White, Gilbert 1720–1793 Curate of Selborne, Hampshireornithology Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne Probablynot authentic Ray, John 1627–1705 Father of English natural history;taxonomy; empiricism Historia Plantarum Derham, William 1657–1735 Physico-Theology, (Natural theology) Estimated speed of soundAstronomy, listed nebulae Lightfoot, JohnBoulger, George Simonds. DNB, 1885-1900, Volume 33: Lightfoot, John 1735–1788 BotanistConchologist Flora Scotica (1789) Henslow, John Stevens 1796–1861 Botanist, Geologist Mentor and friend of his pupil Charles Darwin Jenyns, Leonard 1800–1893 Priest, founder of Bath Natural Historyand Antiquarian Field Club Phenology and meteorology observations Fox, William Darwin 1805–1880 Priest, Entomologist, collector of beetles Tutored his second cousin Charles Darwin in natural history Tristram, Henry BakerArmstrong, 2000. p. 6 1822–1906 Biblical scholar, Ornithologist Early acceptance of Darwinism,tried to reconcile it with creation Wood, John George 1827–1889 Natural history populariser and lecturer Common Objects of the Country Dallinger, William 1839–1909 Methodist minister, microbiology Research on monadsOpposition to spontaneous generation Cowper, Spencer 1713–1774 Dean of Durham 1746–1774 Meteorology Morris, Francis OrpenArmstrong, 2000. pp. 74–78 1810–1893 Irascible Irish clergymanStrongly opposed Darwinism & fox-huntingCampaigned forbird conservation law History of British BirdsA Bible Natural HistoryRecords of Animal Sagacity and CharacterDogs and Their Doings Bloxam, Andrew 1801–1878 Naturalist on Later priest and naturalist Recorded and collected Hawaiian birds,some now extinctLater particularly known for fungi, Rubus and Rosa Berkeley, Miles Joseph 1803–1889 Vicar of Sibbertoft for much of his lifeKnown as the founder of British mycology Account of native British fungi in Sir William Jackson Hooker's British Flora (1836)Introduction to Cryptogamic Botany (1857)Outlines of British Fungology (1860) Linton, William Richardson 1850–1908 Botanist, Vicar of Shirley, Derbyshire Work on brambles of Derbyshire, including Rubus durescensFlora of Derbyshire: Flowering Plants, Higher Cryptogams, Mosses and Hepatics, Characeae
See also List of Christian thinkers in science Science in the Age of Enlightenment
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