John Edmonstone was a

taxidermist Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proc ...

and teacher of taxidermy in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He was an influential

Black Briton Black British people are a multi-ethnic group of British citizens of either African or Afro-Caribbean descent.Gadsby, Meredith (2006), ''Sucking Salt: Caribbean Women Writers, Migration, and Survival'', University of Missouri Press, pp. 76–7 ...

. Born into

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

on a wood plantation in

Demerara Demerara ( nl, Demerary, ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state ...

, British Guiana (present-day

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

), he was given the surname of his slave-owner, Charles Edmonstone, who owned the plantation and also owned the Cardross Park estate at

Cardross Cardross (Scottish Gaelic: ''Càrdainn Ros'') is a large village with a population of 2,194 (2011) in Scotland, on the north side of the Firth of Clyde, situated halfway between Dumbarton and Helensburgh. Cardross is in the historic geographical ...

, near

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

. Around 1812 the plantation was visited by the naturalist

Charles Waterton Charles Waterton (3 June 1782 – 27 May 1865) was an English naturalist, plantation overseer and explorer best known for his pioneering work regarding conservation. Family and religion Waterton was of a Roman Catholic landed gentry family de ...

, who spent considerable time teaching John Edmonstone taxidermy. In 1817 Edmonstone came to Scotland with his master, possibly to become a servant to the Edmonstone family at Cardross Park. Having come there, he was freed, and he took employment in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, then moved to Edinburgh where in 1823 he set up shop as a "bird-stuffer" at 37 Lothian Street. From this shop, he taught taxidermy to students attending the nearby

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, including

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

in 1826, when Darwin was 15. Having worked in hot climates, Edmonstone had learned to preserve birds rapidly before decomposition set in, a skill that may have benefited Darwin in preserving his Galapagos finches. Edmonstone also undertook work for the Royal Museum of the University. He moved his taxidermy shop to Edinburgh's main shopping thoroughfare, opening at 29 and then later 66 Princes Street. In the 1840s he moved shop again to 10 South St David's Street. Edmonstone gave Darwin inspiring accounts of

tropical rain forest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equatori ...

s in South America and may have encouraged him to explore there. The taxidermy Darwin learnt from Edmonstone helped him greatly during the voyage of HMS ''Beagle''. However, Darwin does not mention him by name, so the identification of Edmonstone as Darwin's teacher is not completely certain and is based on the research of R. B. Freeman.

Legacy

In 2009, a plaque to commemorate Edmonstone was commissioned by the London arts venue,

Kings Place Kings Place is a building in London’s Kings Cross area, providing music and visual arts venues combined with seven floors of office space. It has housed the editorial offices of ''The Guardian'' newspaper since December 2008 and is the for ...

, to be made by

Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapid ...

porcelain firm. The plaque was put up at Negociants Bar, in Lothian Street, Edinburgh, but has since been lost. Edmonstone is regarded as one of the " 100 Great Black Britons". A poem narrated from the perspective of John Edmonstone appears in the Winter 2019 issue of ''

African American Review ''African American Review'' (''AAR'') is a scholarly aggregation of essays on African-American literature, theatre, film, the visual arts, and culture; interviews; poetry; fiction; and book reviews. The journal has featured writers and cultural c ...

''.

References

Year of birth missing Year of death missing 19th-century Scottish scientists Academics of the University of Edinburgh Black British former slaves Scottish people of Guyanese descent Guyanese slaves Charles Darwin Taxidermists People from Demerara-Mahaica {{Scotland-scientist-stub