Edward Whitaker Gray (21 March 1748 – 27 December 1806), English botanist and secretary to the Royal Society, was uncle of
Samuel Frederick Gray
Samuel Frederick Gray (10 December 1766 – 12 April 1828) was a British botanist, mycologist, and pharmacologist. He was the father of the zoologists John Edward Gray and George Robert Gray.
Background
He was the son of Samuel Gray, a London s ...
, author of ''The Practical Chemist.''
Educational and professional roles
While attending the
College of Physicians A college of physicians is a national or provincial organisation concerned with the practice of medicine.
{{Expand list, date=February 2011
Such institutions include:
* American College of Physicians
* Ceylon College of Physicians
* College of Phy ...
Gray performed the duties of librarian. He became a
licentiate in 1773. He graduated M.D., and ultimately was assigned as keeper of the departments of
Natural history and
antiquities
Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Meso ...
in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, which consisted of the collection purchased from Sir
Hans Sloane
Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet (16 April 1660 – 11 January 1753), was an Irish physician, naturalist, and collector, with a collection of 71,000 items which he bequeathed to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British Mu ...
on his death in 1753. This role he held from 1778 until his death. During his tenure, he reorganized the natural history collections employing the
Linnæan system.
George Shaw George Shaw may refer to:
* George Shaw (biologist) (1751–1813), English botanist and zoologist
* George B. Shaw (1854–1894), U.S. Representative from Wisconsin
* George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), Irish playwright
* George C. Shaw (1866–196 ...
assumed his duties as keeper in 1807 having assisted since 1791.
Within
zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...
, Gray's ''Catalogue of Shells'' for the British Museum (1791) best reflect his work as a
malacologist
Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams, ...
.
Gray introduced two plants, ''
Hexandria monogynia'', native to Brazil, and ''
Hexandria monogynia'', native to Portugal, shipped from
Oporto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...
, and catalogued (1777) in the
Royal Botanical gardens at Kew. He was one of the original associates of the
Linnean Society
The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...
in 1788.
In 1785 and 1786 Gray delivered
Croonian Lecture
The Croonian Medal and Lecture is a prestigious award, a medal, and lecture given at the invitation of the Royal Society and the Royal College of Physicians.
Among the papers of William Croone at his death in 1684, was a plan to endow a single ...
s on topics related to muscle response, and in 1789 he contributed ''Observations on the … Amphibia'' to the
''Philosophical Transactions'' of the Royal Society, of which he was a fellow (elected Feb. 1779), and of which on St. Andrew's day in 1797 he became the junior secretary. His 1807 successor to this secretarial post was Sir
Humphry Davy
Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet, (17 December 177829 May 1829) was a British chemist and inventor who invented the Davy lamp and a very early form of arc lamp. He is also remembered for isolating, by using electricity, several elements for t ...
, future mentor to
Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...
.
Gray died at the British Museum, 27 December 1806, in his fifty-ninth year of age.
Family
Gray married Elizabeth Bearsley on 6 June 1775 in Oporto, Portugal. By her he had three children. His two daughters, Juliana and Elizabeth, were both christened in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. The younger daughter married in 1808
Taylor Combe, who subsequently assumed the junior secretarial role for the Royal Society. His son, Francis Edward Gray died on 3 January 1814 at Oporto, 29 years of age.
[''The Gentleman's magazine'', Volume 115 By John Nichols.]
Articles published in Philosophical Transactions
* "Observations on the manner in which glass is charged and discharged with the electric fluid". – LXXVIII. 121
* "Observations on the class of animals called by Linnæus amphibia; particularly on the means of distinguishing those serpents which are venomous from those which are not so." – LXXIX. 21
* "Account of an earthquake felt in various parts of England, 18 November 1795, with some observations thereon." – LXXXVI. 353
Catalogues
* ''Catalogue of plants found in the neighbourhood of Newbury'' (published by Hall & Marsh 1839).
* ''Catalogue of shells bequeathed to the British Museum'' by the Rev. Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode, A.M. (published 1801).
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Edward Whitaker
1748 births
1806 deaths
Fellows of the Royal Society
18th-century English people
English botanists
English malacologists
Employees of the British Museum