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John Ray FRS (29 November 1627 – 17 January 1705) was a Christian
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
naturalist widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists. Until 1670, he wrote his name as John Wray. From then on, he used 'Ray', after "having ascertained that such had been the practice of his family before him". He published important works on
botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...
,
zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, an ...
, and natural theology. His classification of plants in his ''Historia Plantarum'', was an important step towards modern taxonomy. Ray rejected the system of dichotomous division by which species were classified according to a pre-conceived, either/or type system , and instead classified plants according to similarities and differences that emerged from observation. He was among the first to attempt a biological definition for the concept of ''
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...
'', as "a group of morphologically similar organisms arising from a common ancestor". Another significant contribution to taxonomy was his division of plants into those with two seedling leaves (
dicotyledons The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, ...
) or only one ( monocotyledons), a division used in taxonomy today.


Life


Early life

John Ray was born in the village of Black Notley in Essex. He is said to have been born in the smithy, his father having been the village
blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...
. After studying at Braintree school, he was sent at the age of sixteen to Cambridge University: studying at
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
. Initially at Catharine Hall, his tutor was Daniel Duckfield, and later transferred to Trinity where his tutor was James Duport, and his intimate friend and fellow-pupil the celebrated Isaac Barrow. Ray was chosen minor fellow of Trinity in 1649, and later major fellow. He held many college offices, becoming successively lecturer in Greek (1651), mathematics (1653), and humanity (1655), ''
praelector A praelector is a traditional role at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. The role differs somewhat between the two ancient universities. University of Cambridge At Cambridge, a praelector is the fellow of a college who fo ...
'' (1657), frias (1657), and college steward (1659 and 1660); and according to the habit of the time, he was accustomed to preach in his college chapel and also at Great St Mary's, long before he took holy orders on 23 December 1660. Among these sermons were his discourses on ''The wisdom of God manifested in the works of the creation'', and ''Deluge and Dissolution of the World''. Ray was also highly regarded as a tutor and he communicated his own passion for natural history to several pupils. Ray's student, Isaac Barrow, helped Francis Willughby learn mathematics and Ray collaborated with Willughby later. It was at Trinity that he came under the influence of
John Wilkins John Wilkins, (14 February 1614 – 19 November 1672) was an Anglican clergyman, natural philosopher, and author, and was one of the founders of the Royal Society. He was Bishop of Chester from 1668 until his death. Wilkins is one of the ...
, when the latter was appointed master of the college in 1659.


Later life and family

After leaving Cambridge in 1663 he spent some time travelling both in Britain and the continent. In 1673, Ray married Margaret Oakley of Launton in Oxfordshire; in 1676 he went to Middleton Hall near Tamworth, and in 1677 to Falborne (or
Faulkbourne Faulkbourne is a small settlement and civil parish in the Braintree district of Essex, England, about 2 miles (3 km) northwest of Witham. The population at the 2011 Census was included in the civil parish of Fairstead. The name of the vil ...
) Hall in Essex. Finally, in 1679, he removed to his birthplace at Black Notley, where he afterwards remained. His life there was quiet and uneventful, although he had poor health, including chronic sores. Ray kept writing books and corresponded widely on scientific matters, collaborating with his doctor and contemporary Samuel Dale.Morris, A. D. (1974). Samuel Dale (1659-1739), Physician and Geologist. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, 67, 120–124. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/003591577406700215 He lived, in spite of his infirmities, to the age of seventy-seven, dying at Black Notley. He is buried in the churchyard of St Peter and St Paul where there is a memorial to him. He is widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists.


Work

At Cambridge, Ray spent much of his time in the study of natural history, a subject which would occupy him for most of his life, from 1660 to the beginning of the eighteenth century. When Ray found himself unable to subscribe as required by the ‘Bartholomew Act’ of 1662 he, along with 13 other college fellows, resigned his fellowship on 24 August 1662 rather than swear to the declaration that the Solemn League and Covenant was not binding on those who had taken it. s:Ray, John (DNB00) Tobias Smollett quoted the reasoning given in the biography of Ray by
William Derham William Derham FRS (26 November 16575 April 1735)Smolenaars, Marja.Derham, William (1657–1735), ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. Accessed 26 May 2007. was an English clergyman, natural theologian, n ...
:
"The reason of his refusal was not (says his biographer) as some have imagined, his having taken the solemn league and covenant; for that he never did, and often declared that he ever thought it an unlawful oath: but he said he could not say, for those that had taken the oath, that no obligation lay upon them, but feared there might."
His religious views were generally in accord with those imposed under the restoration of
Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest surviving child o ...
, and (though technically a nonconformist) he continued as a layman in the Established
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...
. From this time onwards he seems to have depended chiefly on the bounty of his pupil Francis Willughby, who made Ray his constant companion while he lived. Willughby arranged that after his death, Ray would have 6 shillings a year for educating Willughby's two sons. In the spring of 1663 Ray started together with Willughby and two other pupils ( Philip Skippon and Nathaniel Bacon) on a tour through
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, from which he returned in March 1666, parting from Willughby at
Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the department of Hérault. In 2018, 290,053 people l ...
, whence the latter continued his journey into
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
. He had previously in three different journeys (1658, 1661, 1662) travelled through the greater part of Great Britain, and selections from his private notes of these journeys were edited by George Scott in 1760, under the title of ''Mr Ray's Itineraries''. Ray himself published an account of his foreign travel in 1673, entitled ''Observations topographical, moral, and physiological, made on a Journey through part of the Low Countries, Germany, Italy, and France''. From this tour Ray and Willughby returned laden with collections, on which they meant to base complete systematic descriptions of the animal and vegetable kingdoms. Willughby undertook the former part, but, dying in 1672, left only an ornithology and ichthyology for Ray to edit; while Ray used the botanical collections for the groundwork of his ''Methodus plantarum nova'' (1682), and his great ''Historia generalis plantarum'' (3 vols., 1686, 1688, 1704). The plants gathered on his British tours had already been described in his ''Catalogus plantarum Angliae'' (1670), which formed the basis for later English floras. In 1667 Ray was elected Fellow of the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
, and in 1669 he and Willughby published a paper on ''Experiments concerning the Motion of Sap in Trees''. In 1671, he presented the research of Francis Jessop on formic acid to the Royal Society. In the 1690s, he published three volumes on religion—the most popular being ''The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of the Creation'' (1691), an essay describing evidence that all in nature and space is God's creation as in the Bible is affirmed. In this volume, he moved on from the naming and cataloguing of species like his successor
Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...
. Instead, Ray considered species' lives and how nature worked as a whole, giving facts that are arguments for God's will expressed in His creation of all 'visible and invisible' ( Colossians 1:16). Ray gave an early description of
dendrochronology Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed. As well as dating them, this can give data for dendroclimatology, the study of climate and atm ...
, explaining for the ash tree how to find its age from its tree-rings.


Taxonomy

Ray's work on
plant taxonomy Plant taxonomy is the science that finds, identifies, describes, classifies, and names plants. It is one of the main branches of taxonomy (the science that finds, describes, classifies, and names living things). Plant taxonomy is closely alli ...
spanned a wide range of thought, starting with an approach that was predominantly in the tradition of the herbalists and Aristotelian, but becoming increasingly theoretical and finally rejecting Aristotelianism. Despite his early adherence to Aristotelian tradition, his first botanical work, the ''Catalogus plantarum circa Cantabrigiam nascentium'' (1660), was almost entirely descriptive, being arranged alphabetically. His model was an account by Bauhin of the plants growing around Basel in 1622 and was the first English county flora, covering about 630 species. However at the end of the work he appended a brief taxonomy which he stated followed the usage of Bauhin and other herbalists.


System of classification

Ray's system, starting with his Cambridge catalogue, began with the division between the imperfect or lower plants ( Cryptogams), and perfect (''planta perfecta'') higher plants ( Seed plants). The latter he divided by life forms, e.g. trees (''arbores''), shrubs (''frutices''), subshrubs (''suffrutices'') and
herbaceous plants Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...
(''herbae'') and lastly grouping them by common characteristics. The trees he divided into 8 groups, e.g. ''Pomiferae'' (including apple and pear). The shrubs he placed in 2 groups, ''Spinosi'' ( Berberis etc.) and ''Non Spinosi'' ( Jasmine etc.). The subshrubs formed a single group and the herbs into 21 groups. Division of Herbae; # Bulbosae ('' Lilium'' etc.) # Tuberosae (''
Asphodelus ''Asphodelus'' is a genus of mainly perennial flowering plants in the asphodel family Asphodelaceae that was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The genus was formerly included in the lily family (Liliaceae). The genus is native to tempe ...
'' etc.) # Umbelliferae ('' Foeniculum'' etc.) # Verticellatae ('' Mentha'' etc.) # Spicatae ('' Lysimachia'' etc.) # Scandentes (''
Cucurbita ''Cucurbita'' (Latin for gourd) is a genus of herbaceous fruits in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae (also known as ''cucurbits'' or ''cucurbi''), native to the Andes and Mesoamerica. Five edible species are grown and consumed for their flesh an ...
'' etc.) # Corymbiferae ('' Tanacetum'') # Pappiflorae (''
Senecio ''Senecio'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) that includes ragworts and groundsels. Variously circumscribed taxonomically, the genus ''Senecio'' is one of the largest genera of flowering plants. Description Mor ...
'' etc.) # Capitatae ('' Scabiosa'' etc.) # Campaniformes ('' Digitalis'' etc.) # Coronariae ('' Caryophyllus'' etc.) # Rotundifoliae (''
Cyclamen ''Cyclamen'' ( or ) is a genus of 23 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. ''Cyclamen'' species are native to Europe and the Mediterranean Basin east to the Caucasus and Iran, with one species in Somalia. They g ...
'' etc.) # Nervifoliae ('' Plantago'' etc.) # Stellatae ('' Rubia'' etc.) # Cerealia ('' Legumina'' etc.) # Succulentae ('' Sedum'' etc.) # Graminifoliae ('' Gramina'' etc.) # mitted# Oleraceae (''
Beta Beta (, ; uppercase , lowercase , or cursive ; grc, βῆτα, bē̂ta or ell, βήτα, víta) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 2. In Modern Greek, it represents the voiced labiod ...
'' etc.) # Aquaticae ('' Nymphaea'' etc.) # Marinae ('' Fucus'' etc.) # Saxatiles ('' Asplenium'' etc) As outlined in his ''Historia Plantarum'' (1685–1703): * Herbae (
Herbaceous plants Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...
) ** Imperfectae ( Cryptogams) ** Perfectae ( Seed plants) *** Monocotyledons ***
Dicotyledons The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, ...
* Arborae ( Trees) ** Monocotyledons ** Dicotyledons


Definition of species

Ray was the first person to produce a biological definition of
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...
, in his 1686 ''History of Plants'': :"... no surer criterion for determining species has occurred to me than the distinguishing features that perpetuate themselves in propagation from seed. Thus, no matter what variations occur in the individuals or the species, if they spring from the seed of one and the same plant, they are accidental variations and not such as to distinguish a species... Animals likewise that differ specifically preserve their distinct species permanently; one species never springs from the seed of another nor vice versa".


Publications

Ray published about 23 works, depending on how they are counted. The biological works were usually in Latin, the rest in English. Keynes, Sir Geoffrey 9511976. ''John Ray, 1627–1705: a bibliography 1660–1970''. Van Heusden, Amsterdam. His first publication, while at Cambridge, was the ''Catalogus plantarum circa Cantabrigiam nascentium'' (1660), followed by many works, botanical, zoological,theological and literary. Until 1670, he wrote his name as John Wray. From then on, he used 'Ray', after "having ascertained that such had been the practice of his family before him".


List of selected publications

* Appendices 1663, 1685 ** ** * 1668: ''Tables of plants'', in
John Wilkins John Wilkins, (14 February 1614 – 19 November 1672) was an Anglican clergyman, natural philosopher, and author, and was one of the founders of the Royal Society. He was Bishop of Chester from 1668 until his death. Wilkins is one of the ...
' ''
Essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...
'' * * 1670: ''Collection of English proverbs''. * 1673: ''Observations in the Low Countries and Catalogue of plants not native to England''. * 1674: ''Collection of English words not generally used'
online
* 1675: ''Trilingual dictionary, or nomenclator classicus''. * 1676
''Willughby's Ornithologia''
* *

* 1686: ''History of fishes''. * 1686–1704: ''Historia plantarum species'' 'History of plants'' London:Clark 3 vols; *
Vol 1 1686Vol 2 1688Vol 3 1704
(in Latin) *
Lazenby, Elizabeth Mary (1995). The Historia Plantarum Generalis of John Ray, Book I : a translation and commentary. PhD thesis Newcastle University
* ** 2nd ed 1696 * 1691
''The wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of the Creation'' 7th ed.
2nd ed 1692, 3rd ed 1701, 4th ed 1704, 7th ed 1717 * 1692
''Miscellaneous discourses concerning the dissolution and changes of the world''
* 1693:
Synopsis of animals and reptiles
'. * 1693: ''Collection of travels''. * 1694: ''Collection of European plants''. * 1695: ''Plants of each county''. (Camden's Britannia) * *

* 1700: ''A persuasive to a holy life''. * ;Posthumous * 1705. ''Method and history of insects'' * 1713: '
Synopsis methodica avium & piscium: opus posthumum (''Synopsis of birds and fishes'')'', in Latin. William Innys, London
vol. 1: ''Avium'' vol. 2: ''Piscium'' * 171
''Three Physico-theological discourses''
* *
Facsimile edition 197
Ray Society, London. With introduction by William T. Stearn. ** Fourth edition 1760


Libraries holding Ray's works

Including the various editions, there are 172 works of Ray, of which most are rare. The only libraries with substantial holdings are all in England.p153 The list in order of holdings is: :The
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...
, Euston, London. Holds over 80 of the editions. :The
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...
, University of Oxford. :The
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
Library. :Library of
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
. :The Natural History Museum Library, South Kensington, London. :The John Rylands Library, University of Manchester, Deansgate, Manchester :The Sobrang Bayabas, University of Bayabas


Legacy

Ray's biographer, Charles Raven, commented that "Ray sweeps away the litter of mythology and fable... and always insists upon accuracy of observation and description and the testing of every new discovery".p10 Ray's works were directly influential on the development of taxonomy by
Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, ...
. The Ray Society, named after John Ray, was founded in 1844. It is a scientific text publication society and registered charity, based at the
Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...
, which exists to publish books on natural history, with particular (but not exclusive) reference to the flora and fauna of the British Isles. As of 2017, the Society had published 179 volumes. The John Ray Society (a separate organisation) is the Natural Sciences Society at
St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Cam ...
. It organises a programme of events of interest to science students in the college. In 1986, to mark the 300th anniversary of the publication of Ray's ''Historia Plantarum'', there was a celebration of Ray's legacy in
Braintree, Essex Braintree is a town and former civil parish in Essex, England. The principal settlement of Braintree District, it is located northeast of Chelmsford and west of Colchester. According to the 2011 Census, the town had a population of 41,634, ...
. A "John Ray Gallery" was opened in the Braintree Museum. The John Ray Initiative (JRI) is an educational charity that seeks to reconcile scientific and Christian understandings of the environment. It was formed in 1997 in response to the global environmental crisis and the challenges of sustainable development and environmental stewardship. John Ray's writings proclaimed God as creator whose wisdom is "manifest in the works of creation", and as redeemer of all things. JRI aims to teach appreciation of nature, increase awareness of the state of the global environment, and to promote a Christian understanding of environmental issues.


See also

* Monocotyledons


Notes


References


Bibliography


Books

* * * * (als
here
at
Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as worldwide consortiumof natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working toge ...
) * * See als
ebook 2010
* * * , see also * * * , in


Articles

* *


Websites

* , see also Ray Society
John Ray's works at the
Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as worldwide consortiumof natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working toge ...


External links


John Ray Biography University of California Museum of Paleontology Berkeley

The first biological species concept (Evolving Thoughts)

''Memoir of John Ray''
by James Duncan
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography



John Ray and taxonomy. King's College London

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Dictionary of Scientific Biography


John Ray Initiative


The John Ray Initiative: connecting Environment and Christianity
*

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, John 1628 births 1705 deaths Phycologists Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Botanists with author abbreviations English naturalists Bryologists 17th-century English botanists Fellows of the Royal Society Paleobotanists People from Black Notley Parson-naturalists 17th-century Protestants 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers 18th-century English writers 18th-century English male writers Burials in Essex Writers about religion and science