Google today celebrates William John Swainson, a British ornithologist, famous for his colourful depictions of flowers and birds who was credited with triggering the Victorians' fascination with orchids.
William John Swainson, whose 224th birthday is celebrated in a Google Doodle
today, was a British ornithologist renowned for his colourful depictions of
the nature he spent his life researching.
Born in London on October 8 1789, Swainson was the eldest surviving son of
John Timothy Swainson, a customs collector in Liverpool, and his second wife
Frances Stanway.
Swainson's formal education and early career in H.M. Customs and Excise, which
he begun aged 14, was hampered by a severe speech impediment. It was not
until his father secured him a role with the army commissariat that he
developed an interest in nature.
In 1807 Swainson was posted to Malta and then Sicily, where he begun to pick
up botanical and zoological specimens which he would store in extensive
collections, developing a particular interest in fish. Subsequent stints in
Greece and Italy allowed him to continue his exploration of Mediterranean
fish and flowers.
Retiring from the commissariat with half pay in 1815, Swainson was free to
develop his burgeoning interest in orthnologist. He headed out to Brazil
with English explorer Henry Koster and spent the following years building up
vast collection of insects, plants and fish.
It was in a dispatch from Brazil that Swainson is credited with accidentally
triggering the Victorian era's fascination with orchids.
Packaging up a selection of exotic plants to be sent to London he used unbloomed orchids – which he mistook for weeds – as packing material. By the time they arrived in England the orchids had blossomed and transformed into bright colours, thrilling those who bought them.
Swainson published a summary of his Brazilian travel notes on return to England in 1818 but was disappointed by the lack of positive reaction. It was in the following years that he would develop the passion for illustrations for which he would eventually be remembered.
His marriage to Mary Parkes in 1823 was followed by a full immersion into the life of scientific writing. He produced many books and papers in the coming two decades, often supplemented with his own sketches.
Among the publications were studies of the shell fish, quadrupeds, fishes and reptiles as well as writings on the study of natural history more generally.
Some of his books hinted at a spiritual underpinning to his interest in nature. In one he started with a quote from a psalm: "The Earth is full of thy riches – so is the great and wide sea, wherein are creeping things innumerable, both small and great beasts. These wait all upon thee, that thou mayest give them their food in due season."
Financial pressure was part of the reason for his prolific rate of publication, with Swainson often taking on too much work and failing to deliver projects on time. His wife Mary's death in 1835 only increased these pressures, leaving him to look after their five children alone.
Remarried to Ann Grasby and in need of escape, Swainson emigrated to New Zealand around 1840 and largely abandoned his scientific writing, though he would carry out a survey of timber trees of Victoria, New South Wales, and Tasmania.
Swainson continued to paint and it would be for his colourful depictions of exotic birds and flowers – seen in today's Google Doodle – that he would be best remembered after his death at home in New Zealand on 7 December 1855.
Writing his entry in the Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography many decades later, Nora F. McMillan said: "Swainson’s artistic achievements were of high merit, and he was a pioneer in the use of lithography. His botanical work is unimportant: his claim to remembrance rests upon his zoological work and upon his fine zoological illustrations."
Packaging up a selection of exotic plants to be sent to London he used unbloomed orchids – which he mistook for weeds – as packing material. By the time they arrived in England the orchids had blossomed and transformed into bright colours, thrilling those who bought them.
Swainson published a summary of his Brazilian travel notes on return to England in 1818 but was disappointed by the lack of positive reaction. It was in the following years that he would develop the passion for illustrations for which he would eventually be remembered.
His marriage to Mary Parkes in 1823 was followed by a full immersion into the life of scientific writing. He produced many books and papers in the coming two decades, often supplemented with his own sketches.
Among the publications were studies of the shell fish, quadrupeds, fishes and reptiles as well as writings on the study of natural history more generally.
Some of his books hinted at a spiritual underpinning to his interest in nature. In one he started with a quote from a psalm: "The Earth is full of thy riches – so is the great and wide sea, wherein are creeping things innumerable, both small and great beasts. These wait all upon thee, that thou mayest give them their food in due season."
Financial pressure was part of the reason for his prolific rate of publication, with Swainson often taking on too much work and failing to deliver projects on time. His wife Mary's death in 1835 only increased these pressures, leaving him to look after their five children alone.
Remarried to Ann Grasby and in need of escape, Swainson emigrated to New Zealand around 1840 and largely abandoned his scientific writing, though he would carry out a survey of timber trees of Victoria, New South Wales, and Tasmania.
Swainson continued to paint and it would be for his colourful depictions of exotic birds and flowers – seen in today's Google Doodle – that he would be best remembered after his death at home in New Zealand on 7 December 1855.
Writing his entry in the Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography many decades later, Nora F. McMillan said: "Swainson’s artistic achievements were of high merit, and he was a pioneer in the use of lithography. His botanical work is unimportant: his claim to remembrance rests upon his zoological work and upon his fine zoological illustrations."
