Jump to content

Catharine Johnston

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ambrosia10 (talk | contribs) at 00:38, 5 September 2018 (Adding wikicommons markup). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Botanical illustration of Hieracium murorum and Hieracium sylvaticum in Plate II by Catharine Johnston published in The Botany of the Eastern Borders.[1]

Catharine Johnston, née Charles, (1794–1871) was an English botanical illustrator who had a species of marine animal named in her honour.

Life and work

Johnston was born in 1794[2] and was the daughter of William Claudius Charles, a surgeon who had worked in the West Indies.[3] On 23 November 1819 she married Dr George Johnston,[4] a famous naturalist, and moved to Berwick-on-Tweed where the couple resided permanently.[5]

Johnston took an active interest in the study of natural history.[5] She assisted her husband in his natural history investigations and illustrated his publications with scientific drawings.[5] She signed her works C. Johnston.[6] On 21 December 1831 she was made an "Extraordinary member" of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club.[7] Her drawings assisted other notable scientists to further their research.[8]

Johnstonella catharina from A naturalist's rambles on the Devonshire coast by P H Gosse London:John Van Voorst, 1853.[9]

In 1853 Philip Henry Gosse named the marine species Tomopteris (Johnstonella) catharina in her honor stating:

The crystalline Johnstonella: I have pleasure of announcing a new animal of much elegance, which I believe to be of a hitherto unrecognised form. I shall describe it under the appellation of Johnstonella Catharina. (Plate XXV). ... I venture respectfully to appropriate to this marine animal, the surname and christian name of Mrs. Catharine Johnston, as a personal tribute of gratitude for the great aid which I have derived from her engravings in the study of zoophytology.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Details - The botany of the Eastern Borders : with the popular names and uses of the plants, and of the customs and beliefs which have been associated with them / - Biodiversity Heritage Library". www.biodiversitylibrary.org.
  2. ^ DAVIS, PETER (28 July 2010). "George Johnston (1797–1855) of Berwick upon Tweed and the pioneers of marine biology in north-east England". Archives of Natural History. 22 (3): 349–369. doi:10.3366/anh.1995.22.3.349.
  3. ^ "Northumberland". The New Monthly Magazine. 12: 122. 1 January 1820. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  4. ^ "Marriages". Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine. 6: 359. December 1819. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Platts, Elizabeth (1994). "In Celebration of the Ray Society Established 1844, and its founder George Johnston (1797 - 1855)" (PDF). The Ray Society Publication (163): 4. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  6. ^ "Johnston C." Database of Scientific Illustrators. University of Stuttgart. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  7. ^ "Extraordinary Members". History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club. 1: 2. 1834. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  8. ^ a b Gosse, Philip Henry (1853). A naturalist's rambles on the Devonshire coast. London: John Van Voorst. pp. 356–357. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  9. ^ Henry,, Gosse, Philip; Walton,, Hullmandel & (2 April 2018). "A naturalist's rambles on the Devonshire coast /". biodiversitylibrary.org.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)