Henry Lee (1826? – 31 October 1888) was an English naturalist, known as an aquarium director and author.

Life

Born in 1826 or 1827, he succeeded

John Keast Lord John Keast Lord (1818–1872) was an English veterinarian and traveller, known as a naturalist, journalist and author. Life He was probably the son of Edward Lord, and was born in Cornwall. He was brought to Tavistock, Devon, with his brother, Wi ...

as naturalist of the

Brighton Aquarium SEA LIFE Brighton is an aquarium attraction in the English city of Brighton. Opened as Brighton Aquarium in 1872, it is the oldest operating aquarium in the world. The attraction was bought by Sea Life in 1991. History Designed by Eugenius Bir ...

in 1872, and was for a time a director. At the aquarium he instituted experiments on the migration of

smelt Smelt may refer to: * Smelting, chemical process * The common name of various fish: ** Smelt (fish), a family of small fish, Osmeridae ** Australian smelt in the family Retropinnidae and species ''Retropinna semoni'' ** Big-scale sand smelt ''Ath ...

s, the habits of the herring,

whitebait Whitebait is a collective term for the immature fry of fish, typically between long. Such young fish often travel together in schools along coasts, and move into estuaries and sometimes up rivers where they can be easily caught using fine- ...

, crayfish, and other topics. Lee was himself an amateur collector of natural history specimens and microscopist. He was a Fellow 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 ...

, Geological Society, and Zoological Society, in London. He was President of the

Quekett Microscopical Club The Quekett Microscopical Club is a learned society for the promotion of microscopy. Its members come from all over the world, and include both amateur and professional microscopists. It is a registered charity and not-for-profit publisher, with th ...

from 1875 to 1877. He died, after some years of ill-health, at Renton House, Brixton, on 31 October 1888. Lee was sceptical of the claims of

cryptozoology Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness ...

and

sea serpent A sea serpent or sea dragon is a type of dragon sea monster described in various mythologies, most notably Mesopotamian (Tiamat), Judaeo-Christian (Leviathan), Greek (Cetus, Echidna, Hydra, Scylla), and Norse (Jörmungandr). Mythology and fo ...

s. His book ''Sea Monsters Unmasked'' (1884) compared sightings of the Kraken to the squid.Binns, Ronald. (1984). ''The Loch Ness Mystery Solved''. Prometheus Books. p. 207. "Monsters Unmasked (1884) was an earnest attempt to demolish the case for the Kraken and the sea-serpent, attributing such sightings to the squid."

Works

Lee produced ''Aquarium Notes'' for visitors. He wrote:
''The Octopus''
1874, a popular account. * ''Sea Fables Explained'' an
''Sea Monsters Unmasked''
two of the series of handbooks for the Fisheries Exhibition of 1883, about the kraken,

sea-serpent A sea serpent or sea dragon is a type of dragon sea monster described in various mythologies, most notably Mesopotamian (Tiamat), Judaeo-Christian (Leviathan), Greek (Cetus, Echidna, Hydra, Scylla), and Norse (Jörmungandr). Mythology and folk ...

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes ass ...

barnacles A barnacle is a type of arthropod constituting the subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea, and is hence related to crabs and lobsters. Barnacles are exclusively marine, and tend to live in shallow and tidal waters, typically in eros ...

, and similar topics. * '' The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary'', 1887. He was a contributor to '' Land and Water''.

References

;Attribution

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Henry 1826 births 1888 deaths English male non-fiction writers English naturalists English sceptics English science writers