The Ray Society is a scientific
text publication society
A text publication society is a learned society which publishes (either as its sole function, or as a principal function) scholarly editions of old works of historical or literary interest, or archival documents. In addition to full texts, a text p ...
that publishes works devoted principally to British flora and fauna. As of 2019, it had published 181 volumes. Its publications are predominantly academic works of interest to naturalists, zoologists, botanists and collectors.
The society was founded in 1844, largely on the initiative of
George Johnston and named after the naturalist
John Ray
John Ray FRS (29 November 1627 – 17 January 1705) was a Christian English naturalist widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists. Until 1670, he wrote his name as John Wray. From then on, he used 'Ray', after ...
(1627–1705). It is based at the
Natural History Museum, London
The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...
, and is a
registered charity
A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good).
The legal definition of a ch ...
under English law.
Publications
The Ray Society's publications are concerned with natural history, and have special but not exclusive reference to British flora and fauna. They include original monographs on particular groups and topics, facsimiles of historically important volumes and translations of existing works.
During
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 ...
's lifetime, the Ray Society published not only Darwin's two volumes on living barnacles (1851 and 1854) but also the work of many of the foremost British naturalists:
Thomas Henry Huxley
Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
The storie ...
,
William Crawford Williamson,
John Blackwall
John Blackwall (20 January 1790 – 11 May 1881) was an English naturalist with a particular interest in spiders.
Life
Blackwall was born in Manchester on 20 January 1790. He lived at Hendre House near Llanrwst in north Wales from 1833 until ...
,
Albert Günther
Albert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther FRS, also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther (3 October 1830 – 1 February 1914), was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. Günther is ranked the second-most productive re ...
,
James Scott Bowerbank
James Scott Bowerbank (14 July 1797 – 8 March 1877) was a British naturalist and palaeontologist.
Biography
Bowerbank was born in Bishopsgate, London, and succeeded in conjunction with his brother to his father's distillery, in which he was a ...
, etc.
List of the Annual Volumes of the Ray Society, from their Commencement, in 1844, to August, 1880
/ref>
Recent publications have included:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* (in 2 volumes)
*
A complete list of all volumes is available on the Society's website.
References
External links
*
{{authority control
British biology societies
Charities based in England
Scientific organizations established in 1844
Text publication societies
1844 establishments in the United Kingdom