The Sowerby family () was a British family of several generations of naturalists,

illustrators An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

botanists This is a list of botanists who have Wikipedia articles, in alphabetical order by surname. The List of botanists by author abbreviation is mostly a list of plant taxonomists because an author receives a standard abbreviation only when that aut ...

, and

zoologists This is a list of notable zoologists who have published names of new taxa under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. A * Abe – Tokiharu Abe (1911–1996) * Abeille de Perrin, Ab. – Elzéar Abeille de Perrin (1843–1910) * A ...

active from the late 18th century to the mid twentieth century. *

James Sowerby James Sowerby (21 March 1757 – 25 October 1822) was an English naturalist, illustrator and mineralogist. Contributions to published works, such as '' A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland'' or '' English Botany'', include his detailed and a ...

(1757–1822) **

James De Carle Sowerby James De Carle Sowerby (5 June 1787 – 26 August 1871) was a British mineralogist, botanist, and illustrator. He received an education in chemistry. Sowerby was born in London, the son of botanical artist James Sowerby (1757–1822), and his ...

(1787–1871) ***

(1815–1834) ***William Sowerby (1827–1906) ***Joseph Sowerby (1829–ca.1871) ****Rev. Arthur Sowerby (1857–?) *****

Arthur de Carle Sowerby Arthur de Carle Sowerby (8 July 1885 – 16 August 1954; ) was a British naturalist, explorer, writer, and publisher in China. His father was Arthur Sowerby (15 October 1857 – 27 June 1934; ). Background Arthur Sowerby was the son of a Chri ...

(1885–1954) **

George Brettingham Sowerby I George Brettingham Sowerby I (12 August 1788 – 26 July 1854) was a British naturalist, illustrator and conchologist. Life He was the second son of James Sowerby. George was educated at home under private tutors, and afterwards assisted hi ...

(1788–1854) ***

George Brettingham Sowerby II George Brettingham Sowerby II (1812 – 26 July 1884) was a British naturalist, illustrator, and conchologist. Together with his father, George Brettingham Sowerby I, he published the ''Thesaurus Conchyliorum'' and other illustrated works ...

(1812–1884) *** Charlotte Caroline Sowerby (1820–1865) ****

George Brettingham Sowerby III George Brettingham Sowerby III (16 September 1843 – 31 January 1921) was a British conchologist, publisher, and illustrator. He, too, worked (like his father George Brettingham Sowerby II and his grandfather George Brettingham Sowerby I) on t ...

(1843–1921) **

Charles Edward Sowerby Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

(1795–1842) *** John Edward Sowerby (1825-1870) Grave of George Brettingham Sowerby in Highgate Cemetery

The three George Sowerbys produced major works on

molluscs Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

and their

systematics Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: cladograms, phylogenetic t ...

. Together, they introduced numerous (sometimes the number 5000 is mentioned) taxonomic names. Because all three of the G.B Sowerbys published extensively on the subject of

conchology Conchology () is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs; however, malacology is the study of molluscs as whole organisms, whereas conchology is confined to the study of their shells. It includ ...

, it is not easy even for professional taxonomists to unravel which of the three "G.B. Sowerbys" is meant in a particular citation when the numbering system G.B. Sowerby I, II, or III is not used. Even when a date is provided, this kind of attribution is not obvious: e.g. "Sowerby, 1870" can refer to either G.B. Sowerby II or G.B. Sowerby III. The scientific and artistic contributions of the family extended well into the 20th century.

(1885–1954), James Sowerby's great-great-grandson, explored the geography and natural history of China. One of James' grandsons, John George Sowerby (1850–1914), was an illustrator and glass-worker whose work was exhibited in the British Royal Academy, and who directed Ellison Glass Works Ltd, which during the 1880s was the world's largest producer of pressed glass. John G. Sowerby's daughter Katherine Githa (1876–1970) became a noted playwright, and Millicent Sowerby (1878–1967) was a painter and illustrator known for her children's book illustrations.

References

* ''Who were the Sowerbys?'' by Katherine V. W. Palmer, ''Internet Hawaiian Shell News'', January 2002, pp. 17 – 24. Reprint of ''Hawaiian Shell News'', Nov. 1965, pp. 4ff. Available on a CD of back issues of HSN, ISSN 1543-6039.
Papers on the Sowerby Family.
''Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History''. 6 (6):380-559. 1974. * *{{cite book, title=A note on the history of the Sowerby family archive: together with a short title catalogue of natural history works written or illustrated by members of the family, first=John, last= Collins, publisher=J.S. Seaton, year= 1973, location=London, oclc=22696413

External links

The Sowerby Collection (1739-1985)
National Archives of the United Kingdom
Thesaurus conchyliorum, or, Monographs of genera of shells; Sowerby, G. B. (George Brettingham), 1812-1884 & Sowerby, G. B. (George Brettingham), 1843-1921
British naturalists British families Scientific families Artist families Burials at Highgate Cemetery fr:Sowerby