Joshua Brookes (24 November 1761 – 10 January 1833) was a British

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

and naturalist.

Early life

Brookes studied under William Hunter, William Hewson, Andrew Marshall, and John Sheldon, in London. He then attended the practice of

Antoine Portal Baron Antoine Portal (January 5, 1742 – July 23, 1832) was a French anatomist, doctor, medical historian and founding president of the Académie Nationale de Médecine. Biography Born on January 5, 1742, in Gaillac, he was the eldest of 12 s ...

and other eminent surgeons at the

Hôtel-Dieu de Paris In French-speaking countries, a hôtel-Dieu ( en, hostel of God) was originally a hospital for the poor and needy, run by the Catholic Church. Nowadays these buildings or institutions have either kept their function as a hospital, the one in Paris b ...

Brookesian Museum

Brookes became a teacher of anatomy in London, and the founder of the Brookesian Museum of Comparative Anatomy. This private museum is described in the 1830 catalogue ''Museum Brookesianum''.

Later life

Elected a

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 mathemati ...

in 1819, Brookes gave up teaching in 1826, in bad health. After vainly endeavouring to dispose of his museum collection entire, he sold it off piecemeal. The final sale took place on 1 March 1830, and on 22 following days. He died on 10 January 1833 in Great Portland Street, London.

Works

Brookes was the first to place the

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

in its own

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

, which he established in 1828 as ''Acinonyx''. His published writings included: * ''Lectures on the Anatomy of the Ostrich'' (''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles ...

'', vol. xii.); * ''Brookesian Museum'', 1827; * ''Catalogue of Zootomical Collection'', 1828; * ''Address to the Zoological Club of the Linnean Society'', 1828; * ''Thoughts on Cholera'', 1831, proposing hygienic and sanitary precautions; and * a description of a new genus of ''

Rodentia Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are nat ...

'' (''Trans. Linn. Soc.'', 1829).

Legacy

The generic name, ''

Brookesia ''Brookesia'' is a genus of chameleons, endemic to Madagascar, that range from small to very small in size, and are known collectively as leaf chameleons (though this name also commonly is used for species in the genera ''Rieppeleon'' and ''Rham ...

'', is in honour of Joshua Brookes.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Brookes", p. 40). Joshua Brookes once encountered Chang and Eng, the original Siamese Twins. According to Frederick Drimmer's book ''Very Special People'', Brookes "provided a document declaring that the twins 'constitute a most extraordinary Lusus Naturae

port of nature A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

the first instance I have seen of a double living child; they being totally devoid of deception, afford a very interesting spectacle, and they are highly deserving of public patronage.'"

References

*Dobson, J. (1952) ''Eighteenth Century Anatomists: Joshua Brookes, Practitioner'', 180–4.

Notes

;Attribution 1761 births 1833 deaths British zoologists British anatomists Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Linnean Society of London British expatriates in France {{UK-zoologist-stub