A History of the Ecological Sciences, Part 18: John Ray and His Associates Fran is Willughby and William Derham

Abstract

John Ray (1623-1705) was the greatest naturalist and natural theologian of his time. He was assisted early in his career by patron, student, and zoologist Francis Willughby (1635-1672), and late in his career by cleric, natural philosopher, and natural theologian William Derham (1657-1735), who became his literaryexecutor. Ray had a number of other associates who also contributed to his work, especially Martin Lister, Tancred Robinson, and Hans Sloane, all of whose roles are described in Charles E. Raven's encyclopedicbiography of Ray (1942). Ray was the first naturalist to emphasize that natural history must be founded on an ability to identify plant and animal species,yet systematics was never the goal of his studies. His interest in natural theology encouraged his investigationinto how nature works. Although his adult life was something of a struggle, he was neverthelessa constantly productive naturalist who produced numerous publications (Keynes 1951). The cumulativeimpact of his work was a major contribution to the Scientific Revolution during the 1600s (Levine 1983).