Mark Catesby

Mark Catesby (24 March 1682/83 - 23 December 1749) was an English naturalist. Between 1729 and 1747 Catesby published his book Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. The book was the first publication to describe flora and fauna of North America. The book described 220 birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects, mammals and plants.

Catesby studied natural history in London. Catesby collected seeds in Virginia from 1714 to 1719.

Gallery of Catesby's images

Books

Jackson, Christine E., (1985) Bird Etchings: the illustrators and their books, 1655-1855. Ithaca: Cornell University Press 
Walters, Michael (2003) A Concise History of Ornithology. London: Christopher Helm 
Wiatt, Alex L. (1992) The Descendants of Stephen Field of King and Queen County, Virginia, 1721, Fredericksburg VA: BookCrafters
Myers, Amy R. W. & Pritchard, M. B. (1998) "Empire's nature. Mark Catesby's New World vision," Chapel Hill & London: University of North Carolina Press 

Other websites
Catesby Commemoration Trust 
Works
Mark Catesby (1731). The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and (v1). Online scanned edition  from Rare Book Room.
Mark Catesby (1743). The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and (v2). Online scanned edition  from Rare Book Room.
Mark Catesby, The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahamas Electronic edition: high quality images and user-friendly text  from the American Studies Programs at the University of Virginia
 View works by Mark Catesby online at the Biodiversity Heritage Library.

Category:1683 births
Category:1749 deaths
Category:English botanists
Category:Fellows of the Royal Society
Category:English naturalists