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British naturalist (1762–1835)
William Turton (21 May 1762 – 28 December 1835) was an English physician and
naturalist . He is known for his pioneering work in
conchology , and for translating
Linnaeus '
Systema Naturae into English.
Biography
He was born at
Olveston ,
Gloucestershire and was educated at
Oriel College, Oxford . He commenced in practice as a physician at
Swansea , where he worked for fifteen years. He then moved in turn to
Dublin ,
Teignmouth , and
Torquay . He devoted his leisure time to
natural history , especially
conchology . He published several illustrated
shell books, and a translation of
Gmelin 's edition of
Linnaeus '
Systema Naturae in 1806. His works on
conchology have been described as "seminal".
[1]
In 1817, while he was a physician at
Teignmouth , he treated Tom Keats, youngest brother of the Romantic poet
John Keats , for
consumption .
[2]
He moved to
Bideford ,
Devon , in 1831, and died there. His shell collection is now located at the
Smithsonian Institution .
[1]
The
bivalve genus
Turtonia (J. Alder, 1848)
[3] and the species
Galeomma turtoni
[4] are named for him.
Bibliography
Turton, William (1803).
A Treatise on Cold and Hot Baths, with Directions for Their Application in Various Diseases. To which is Added, a Letter ... on the Introduction and Success of the Cow Pock in the Principality of Wales (Second ed.). Swansea: Printed at the Author's Private Press. (free)
Linnaeus, Carl (January 1806).
A General System of Nature, Through the Three Grand Kingdoms of Animals, Vegetables, and Minerals, Systematically Divided Into Their Several Classes, Orders, Genera, Species, and Varieties, with their Habitations, Manners, Economy, Structure, and Peculiarities. By Sir Charles Linnè: Translated from Gmelin, Fabricius, Willdenow, &c . Translated by
Turton, William . Lackington, Allen, and Company. (free)
A Medical Glossary; in which the words in the various branches of medicine are deduced from their original languages, and explained (London, 1797, second edition 1802).
Turton, William (1807).
British Fauna, Containing a Compendium of the Zoology of the British Islands: Arranged According to the Linnean System . Swansea. (free)
A Conchological Dictionary of the British Islands , by W. Turton, assisted by his daughter (London, 1819).
Turton, William (1831).
A manual of the land and freshwater shells of the British Islands arranged according to the more modern systems of classification; and described from perfect specimens in the author's cabinet: with coloured plates of every species . Paternoster Row, London: Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green. pp. 152 pp, 10 plates.
References
External links
International National Academics Other