James Scott Bowerbank (14 July 1797 – 8 March 1877) was a British naturalist and

palaeontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

Biography

Bowerbank was born in Bishopsgate,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and succeeded in conjunction with his brother to his father's distillery, in which he was actively engaged until 1847. In early years

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

and natural history, especially

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

, engaged much of his attention; he became an enthusiastic worker at the

microscope A microscope () is a laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic means being invisi ...

, studying the structure of

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

s, moss agates, and flints. He also formed an extensive collection of fossils. The organic remains of the

London Clay The London Clay Formation is a marine geological formation of Ypresian (early Eocene Epoch, c. 56–49 million years ago) age which crops out in the southeast of England. The London Clay is well known for its fossil content. The fossils from t ...

attracted particular attention, and about the year 1836 he and six other workers founded The London Clay Club – the members comprising Dr Bowerbank, Frederick E. Edwards (1799–1875), author of ''The Eocene Mollusca'' ( Palaeontograph. Soc.),

Searles Valentine Wood Searles Valentine Wood (February 14, 1798 – October 26, 1880) was an English palaeontologist. Life Wood went to sea in 1811 as a midshipman in the British East India Company's service, which he left in 1826. He then settled at Hasketon near Woo ...

, John Morris, Alfred White (zoologist), N. T. Wetherell, surgeon of Highgate (1800–1875), and

James De Carle Sowerby James De Carle Sowerby (5 June 1787 – 26 August 1871) was a British mineralogist, botanist, and illustrator. He received an education in chemistry. Sowerby was born in London, the son of botanical artist James Sowerby (1757–1822), and hi ...

. In 1840, Bowerbank published ''A History of the Fossil Fruits and Seeds of the London Clay'', and two years later he was elected

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

In 1847 he suggested the establishment of a society for the publication of undescribed British Fossils, and thus originated the Palaeontographical Society. From 1844 until 1864 he did much to encourage a love of natural science by being at home every Monday evening at his residence in Park Street, Islington, and afterwards in Highbury Grove, where the treasures of his museum, his 4 microscopes, and his personal assistance were at the service of every earnest student. He became specially interested in the study of

sponge Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate throug ...

s, and he was author of ''A Monograph of the British Spongiadae'' in 4 vols., published by the Ray Society, 1864–1882. He retired in 1864 to St Leonards-on-Sea,Kelly's Post Office Directory of Essex, Herts, Middlesex, Kent, Surrey and Sussex, 1867
accessed 14 April 2007 where he died on 8 March 1877.

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowerbank, James Scott 1797 births 1877 deaths British palaeontologists Fellows of the Royal Society