Catharine Johnston ( Charles; 1794–1871) was an English

botanical illustrator Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species. They are generally meant to be scientifically descriptive about subjects depicted and are often found printed alongside a botanical description in boo ...

who had a species of

marine animal Marine life, sea life or ocean life is the collective ecological communities that encompass all aquatic animals, aquatic plant, plants, algae, marine fungi, fungi, marine protists, protists, single-celled marine microorganisms, microorganisms ...

named in her honour.

Life and work

Catharine Charles was born in 1794 and was the daughter of William Claudius Charles, a surgeon who had worked in the West Indies. On 23 November 1819, she married George Johnston, a naturalist, and moved to

Berwick-on-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

, where the couple resided permanently. Johnston took an active interest in the study of natural history. She assisted her husband in his natural history investigations and illustrated his publications with scientific drawings. She signed her works C. Johnston. On 21 December 1831, she was made an "Extraordinary member" of the

Berwickshire Naturalists' Club Berwickshire (; ) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. The county takes its name from Berwick-upon-Tweed, its original county town, which was part of Scotland at the t ...

. Her drawings assisted other notable scientists to further their research. In 1853

Philip Henry Gosse Philip Henry Gosse (; 6 April 1810 – 23 August 1888), known to his friends as Henry, was an English natural history, naturalist and populariser of natural science, prolific author, "Father of the Aquarium", scientific illustrator, lecturer, e ...

named the marine species '' Tomopteris (Johnstonella) catharina'' in her honor stating:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Catharine Women naturalists 19th-century English women scientists British women illustrators British illustrators English natural history illustrators British botanical illustrators