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1 of 253523 objects
Synopsis methodia avium et piscium : opus posthumum / John Ray. 1713
RCIN 1055267
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John Ray was one of the most influential English naturalists in the seventeenth century. Born in Essex, Ray became interested in the natural world at the age of 23 following a bout of illness. He spent much of his life in Cambridge where he studied and taught a generation of naturalists, including Francis Willughby (1635-72), who would become a close friend and travel companion.
Ray spent much of his career attempting to form a universal classification system for plants and animals. While devising a system for plants (see RCIN 1055263), he died before he could revise the similar one he had created for animals. This work contains a catalogue of birds and fishes studied by Ray during his lifetime. It was published in 1713, eight years after his death.
Provenance
Formerly in the library of the botanist William Forsyth. Acquired by William IV following Forsyth's death in 1835.
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