Information about William Curtis

**William Curtis**
Portrait from Curtis's Botanical Magazine
Born	January 11, 1746 Alton, Hampshire
Died	July 7, 1799
Nationality	English
Field	Botany and Entomology
Known for	Publications
Botany auth. abbrev.	Curtis

William Curtis (January 11, 1746 - July 7, 1799) was an English botanist and entomologist, who was born at Alton, Hampshire.

Curtis began as an apothecary, before turning his attention to botany and other natural history. The publications he prepared effectively reached a wider audience than early works on the subject had intended. ^[1] At the age of 25 he produced Instructions for collecting and preserving insects; particularly moths and butterflies.^[2]

Curtis was demonstrator of plants and Praefectus Horti at the Chelsea Physic Garden from 1771 to 1777. He established his own London Botanic Garden at Lambeth in 1779, moving to Brompton in 1789. He published Flora Londinensis - 6 volumes, 1777-1798) - a pioneering work in that it devoted itself to urban nature. Financial success was not found, but he went on the publish The Botanical Magazine in 1787, a work that would also feature hand coloured plates by artists such as James Sowerby, Sydenham Edwards, and William Kilburn.

Curtis was to gain wealth from the ventures into publishing, short sales on Londinensis were offset by over 3000 copies of the magazine. Curtis said they had each brought 'pudding or praise'.

The genus Curtisia is named in his honour. His publication was continued as the esteemed botanical publication, Curtis's Botanical Magazine. The noted natural history illustrators, James Sowerby and Sydenham Edwards both found a start with the eminent magazine.

The standard botanical author abbreviation Curtis is applied to plants described by this botanist, who should also appear on this list.

References

Scolopendrium vulgare, from William Curtis's Flora Londinensis

1. ^ William Curtis. Herbals and insects. University of Massachusetts. Retrieved on 2007-09-01. “The scope of natural history changed dramatically in 18th century England under the influence of published works directed at amateurs.
2. ^ Instructions for collecting and preserving insects; particularly moths and butterflies. Illustrated with a copper-plate, on which the nets, and other apparatus necessary for that purpose are delineated... London: Printed by the author, and sold by George Pearch, 1771. iv, 90 p. fold. plate, 22 cm

Hugh Cahill (2006-05-10). Case 3: William Curtis and The Botanical Magazine. Nature observed: The work of the botanical artist. King's College London. Retrieved on 2007-07-30. “Flora Londinensis is one of the most beautiful and important botanical publications of the eighteenth century.

External links

Curtis, William (2006). The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 1. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.2006&rft.pub=Project%20Gutenberg%7CProject%20Gutenberg%20Literary%20Archive%20Foundation">
Curtis, William. The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 2.
Curtis, William. The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 3.
Curtis, William. The Botanical Magazine, Vol. 4.

The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed, is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name Curtis's Botanical Magazine.
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January 11 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

314 - Pope Miltiades ends his reign as the Pope of Roman Catholicism by dying in power.

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8th century - 9th century - 10th century
850s 860s 870s - 880s - 890s 900s 910s
885 886 887 - 888 - 889 890 891

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Subjects: Archaeology - Architecture -
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Alton

Alton, Hampshire ()

|240px|Alton, Hampshire (

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7th July, July 7th, and 7/7 (pronounced "Seven-seven") have been widely used in the Western media as a shorthand for the 7 July 2005 bombings on London's transport system.
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Motto
Dieu et mon droit (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
No official anthem specific to England — the anthem of the United Kingdom is "God Save the Queen".
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Botany is the scientific study of plant life. As a branch of biology, it is also called plant science(s), phytology, or plant biology. Botany covers a wide range of scientific disciplines that study plants, algae, and fungi including: structure, growth,
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Entomology, from the Greek: entomo-/εντομο- "that which is cut in pieces or engraved/segmented", hence "insect"; and logos/λόγος, "knowledge",^[1] is the scientific study of insects.
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publish is to make publicly known, and in reference to text and images, it can mean distributing paper copies to the public, or putting the content on a website.

The word publication means the act of publishing
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In botanical nomenclature, author citation refers to citing the person (or group of people) who validly published a botanical name, i.e. who first published the name while fulfilling the formal requirements as specified by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature
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January 11 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

314 - Pope Miltiades ends his reign as the Pope of Roman Catholicism by dying in power.

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Alton

Alton, Hampshire ()

|240px|Alton, Hampshire (

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Apothecary (IPA: /əˈpɒθɪkəri/ or ah-POTH-i-kerry) is an historical name for a medical practitioner who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients — a
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The Chelsea Physic Garden was established as the Apothecaries’ Garden in London in 1673. (The word ‘Physic’ here refers to the science of healing.) It is the second oldest botanical garden in Britain, after the University of Oxford Botanic Garden, which was
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Lambeth

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Brompton

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Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information – the activity of making information available for public view. In some cases, authors may be their own publishers.
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Flora Londinensis

Tormentilla officinalis (Tormentil or Septfoil)

One of Sowerby's hand-coloured plates.
Author William Curtis
Illustrator James Sowerby, et al
Country England
Series 6 volumes

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William Curtis

See also

References

External links

Events

Events