The Yorkshire Naturalists' Union is an association of amateur and professional naturalists covering a wide range of aspects of natural history. It is one of

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

's oldest extant wildlife organisations and oldest

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

. Its Mycological Committee, founded in 1892, is the oldest permanent organisation dedicated to the study of

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

in Great Britain.

History

The Yorkshire Naturalists' Union was founded in 1861 as the

West Riding The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The lieutenancy at that time included the city of York a ...

Consolidated Naturalists' Society. Initially a collaboration of five local

field clubs, additional clubs and societies from across

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

continued to join. The association renamed itself the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union in 1876.

Activities

The Yorkshire Naturalists' Union organises joint field trips, co-operates with the

British Association for the Advancement of Science The British Science Association (BSA) is a Charitable organization, charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Scienc ...

and other county-sized associations, and publishes a journal, ''The Naturalist''. The journal was first published by the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union in August 1878.

Notable members

* William Sawney Bisat(1886–1973), geologist * Frederick Orpen Bower (1855–1948), botanist * William Norwood Cheesman (1847–1925), mycologist * Alfred Clarke (1848–1925), mycologist and photographer *

William Eagle Clarke Dr William Eagle Clarke ISO FLS FRSE PBOU Doctor of Laws, LL.D. (16 March 1853 – 10 May 1938) was a British ornithologist. Life Clarke was born in Leeds where his father William Clarke was a solicitor and educated at the Grammar School and at ...

(1853–1938), ornithologist * William James Clarke (1871–1945), naturalist and folklorist * Charles Crossland (1844–1916), mycologist and ecologist * James William Davis (1846–1893), geologist * John Farrah (1849–1907), botanist and meteorologist * Percy H. Grimshaw (1869–1939), entomologist and zoogeographer * Henry Bendelack Hewetson (1850–1899), ornithologist * William Walsham How (1823–1897), botanist and

Bishop of Wakefield The Bishop of Wakefield is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. The title was first created for a diocesan bishop in 1888, but it was dissolved in 2014. The Bishop of Wakefield is ...

* Edmund William Mason (1890–1975), mycologist *

George Edward Massee George Edward Massee (20 December 1845 – 16 February 1917) was an English mycologist, plant pathologist, and botanist. Background and education George Massee was born in Scampston, East Riding of Yorkshire, the son of a farmer. He was educ ...

(1845–1917), mycologist * Seth Lister Mosley (1847–1829), ornithologist and museum curator * James Needham (1849–1913), mycologist and ecologist * Arthur Anselm Pearson (1874–1954), mycologist * George Taylor Porritt (1848–1927), entomologist * Lorna I. Scott (1895–1984), botanist *

Albert Seward Sir Albert Charles Seward FRS (9 October 1863 – 11 April 1941) was a British botanist and geologist. Life Seward was born in Lancaster. His first education was at Lancaster Grammar School and he then went on to St John's College, Cambridg ...

(1863–1941), botanist and geologist. Professor of Botany, Cambridge University from 1906 to 1936 * Henry Thomas Soppitt (1858–1899), mycologist * James Varley (1817–1883), ornithologist and entomologist * Harold Wager (1862–1929), mycologist * Roy Watling (b. 1938), mycologist * Thomas William Woodhead (1863–1940), plant ecologist

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Yorkshire Naturalists' Union
Official webpage of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union
Biology societies Natural history societies 1861 establishments in England Organisations based in Yorkshire