William Turner (naturalist)

William Turner (1509/10 – 13 July 1568)^[1] was an English divine and reformer, a physician and a natural historian. He has been called "The father of English botany."^[2] He studied medicine in Italy, and was a friend of the great Swiss naturalist, Conrad Gessner. He was an early herbalist and ornithologist, and it is in these fields that the most interest lies today.^[3] He is known as being one of the first "parson-naturalists" in England.^[4]

He first published Libellus de Re herbaria in Latin in 1538, and later translated it into English because he believed herbalists were not sharing their knowledge. Turner's works were condemned under Henry VIII and under Mary Tudor.^[2]

^ Year of birth from DNB; day of death preferred on grounds of a message sent by the Bishop of Norwich: see Raven p122.
^ ^a ^b Samson, Alexander. Locus Amoenus: Gardens and Horticulture in the Renaissance, 2012 :4
^ Raven, Charles E. 1947. English naturalists from Neckam to Ray: a study of the making of the modern world. Cambridge. p38
^ Armstrong, Patrick (2000). The English Parson-naturalist: A Companionship Between Science and Religion. Gracewing. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-85244-516-7.

[1] Year of birth from DNB; day of death preferred on grounds of a message sent by the Bishop of Norwich: see Raven p122.

[locus-2] Samson, Alexander. Locus Amoenus: Gardens and Horticulture in the Renaissance, 2012 :4

[3] Raven, Charles E. 1947. English naturalists from Neckam to Ray: a study of the making of the modern world. Cambridge. p38

[parson-naturalist-4] Armstrong, Patrick (2000). The English Parson-naturalist: A Companionship Between Science and Religion. Gracewing. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-85244-516-7.

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