John Ray

About John Ray

Who is it?: Naturalist
Birth Day: November 29, 1627
Birth Place: Black Notley, near Braintree, British
Alma mater: Trinity College, Cambridge
Fields: Botany, Zoology, Natural history, Natural theology
Academic advisors: James Duport
Author abbrev. (botany): Ray

John Ray

John Ray was born on November 29, 1627 in Black Notley, near Braintree, British, is Naturalist. The earliest of parson-naturalists known to the world, John Ray was one of the most eminent naturalists of the 17th century. He was also an influential philosopher and theologian. Ray was also the first person to give the biological definition of the term, ‘species’. He is hailed as ‘the father of natural history' and published some of the important works on plants, animals and natural theology. This founding figure of botany and zoology made ground-breaking contributions in the field of taxonomy. Born in a village to a blacksmith father and an amateur herbalist mother, Ray is believed to have spent much of his childhood helping his mother collect plants and observing the healing properties of them. Ray attended Trinity College, Cambridge University, where he received his bachelors and master’s degree. He was later appointed as the fellow of the college and he took a number of teaching positions but unfortunately resigned from his fellowship due to religious persecution. His contributions as a naturalist laid the foundation for many future works of research. Presently there are 172 works of him which are stored in some of the most prestigious libraries in London.
John Ray is a member of Miscellaneous

Does John Ray Dead or Alive?

As per our current Database, John Ray has been died on 17 January 1705(1705-01-17) (aged 77)\nBlack Notley.

🎂 John Ray - Age, Bio, Faces and Birthday

When John Ray die, John Ray was 77 years old.

Popular As John Ray
Occupation Miscellaneous
Age 77 years old
Zodiac Sign Sagittarius
Born November 29, 1627 (Black Notley, near Braintree, British)
Birthday November 29
Town/City Black Notley, near Braintree, British
Nationality British

🌙 Zodiac

John Ray’s zodiac sign is Sagittarius. According to astrologers, Sagittarius is curious and energetic, it is one of the biggest travelers among all zodiac signs. Their open mind and philosophical view motivates them to wander around the world in search of the meaning of life. Sagittarius is extrovert, optimistic and enthusiastic, and likes changes. Sagittarius-born are able to transform their thoughts into concrete actions and they will do anything to achieve their goals.

🌙 Chinese Zodiac Signs

John Ray was born in the Year of the Rabbit. Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Rabbit enjoy being surrounded by family and friends. They’re popular, compassionate, sincere, and they like to avoid conflict and are sometimes seen as pushovers. Rabbits enjoy home and entertaining at home. Compatible with Goat or Pig.

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Famous Quotes:

"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."

Biography/Timeline

1660

Ray published about 23 works, depending on how they are counted. The biological works were usually in Latin, the rest in English. His first publication, while at Cambridge, was the Catalogus plantarum circa Cantabrigiam nascentium (1660), followed by many works, botanical, zoological, theological and literary.

1662

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. 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. Tobias Smollett quoted the reasoning given in the biography of Ray by william Derham:

1663

In the spring of 1663 Ray started together with Willughby and two other pupils (Philip Skippon and Nathaniel Bacon) on a tour through Europe, from which he returned in March 1666, parting from Willughby at Montpellier, whence the latter continued his journey into Spain. 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.

1667

In 1667 Ray was elected Fellow of the Royal Society, 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.

1685

As outlined in his Historia Plantarum (1685–1703):

1686

Ray was the first person to produce a biological definition of species, in his 1686 History of plants:

1690

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 Bible is affirmed. In this volume, he moved on from the naming and cataloguing of species like his successor Carl Linnaeus. 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, explaining for the ash tree how to find its age from its tree-rings.

1844

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, 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.

1986

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. A "John Ray Gallery" was opened in the Braintree Museum.

1997

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.

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