Genre:

Essay, Serial

Subjects:

Gender, Education, Scientific Practitioners, Ornithology, Natural History

    Notes the 'superiority' of the mother of the ornithologist Alexander Wilson, and the 'uncommon attainments' of Georges Cuvier's mother (108). Adds that Cuvier 'cherished, with the most lively fondness, every reminiscence' of his mother and how the latter helped him learn how to read and sketch, as well as fostering 'in every way the desire for solid information', and procuring 'scientific works' for him. Notes that Konrad Gesner's History of the Four-Footed Beasts (a version of which appeared as Topsell 1607) decided Cuvier's 'taste for natural history'. Describes the 'scientific and intellectual pursuits' undertaken by the mother of Elizabeth Fry and Joseph J Gurney. (109)