John Reeves (1 May 1774 – 22 March 1856) was an English

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

. He developed a notable collection of

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

drawings of animals and plants. Reeves commissioned local Chinese artists to create the drawings, which are among the first examples of Chinese art done in the western style of scientific botanical and zoological illustration. Reeves was the son of Reverend Jonathan Reeves of

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. Orphaned young, he was educated at

Christ's Hospital Christ's Hospital is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 11–18) with a royal charter, located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. T ...

and started working with a tea merchant. His knowledge of teas got him an appointment of inspector of tea in 1808. In 1812 he was sent to China in the employment of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

. He was responsible for the introduction of a number of garden plants to the West including ''

Wisteria ''Wisteria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae). The genus includes four species of woody twining vines that are native to China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, southern Canada, the Eastern United States, and nor ...

''. Reeves was a correspondent of the Horticultural Society of London to which he sent specimens. He also corresponded with Sir

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English Natural history, naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the European and American voyages of scientific exploration, 1766 natural-history ...

, regularly sending him specimens. Reeves also took an interest in Chinese astronomy and herbal medicine, collaborating on these with the missionary and sinologist Robert Morrison. Reeves' son John Russell Reeves joined the tea business in 1827 and also took an interest in natural history and like his father, he too was elected into the Linnean and Royal Societies. Reeves senior returned to live in

Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...

in 1831. He had sent specimens of the caterpillar fungus (''

Ophiocordyceps sinensis ''Ophiocordyceps sinensis'' (synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Cordyceps sinensis''), known colloquially as caterpillar fungus, is an entomopathogenic fungus (a fungus that grows on insects) in the family Ophiocordycipitaceae. It is mainly found ...

'') to Britain. Many of Reeves' Chinese drawings are held in the

Lindley Library The Lindley Library in London is the largest horticultural library in the world. It is within the headquarters of the Royal Horticultural Society. Library The main part of the library is based at 80 Vincent Square, London, within the headquarters ...

at the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

. Reeves is commemorated in the names of

Reeves's muntjac Reeves's muntjac (''Muntiacus reevesi''), also known as the Chinese muntjac, is a species of muntjac found widely in south-eastern China (from Gansu to Yunnan) and Taiwan. It has also been introduced in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherla ...

and

Reeves's pheasant Reeves's pheasant (''Syrmaticus reevesii'') is a large pheasant within the genus ''Syrmaticus''. It is Endemism, endemic to China. It is named after the British people, British natural history, naturalist John Reeves (naturalist), John Reeves, wh ...

. Four species of reptiles are also named in his honor: '' Gekko reevesii'', ''

Leiolepis reevesii ''Leiolepis reevesii'', commonly known as Reeves's butterfly lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. The species is endemic to south-eastern Asia. Etymology The specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management sy ...

'', ''

Mauremys reevesii ''Mauremys reevesii'', commonly known as the Chinese pond turtle, the Chinese three-keeled pond turtle, or Reeves' turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae, a family which was formerly called Bataguridae. The species is native t ...

'', and '' Scincella reevesii''.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Reeves", p. 218).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reeves, John English naturalists Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Linnean Society of London 1774 births 1856 deaths