1-624-832 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

John Ray, English naturalist, (c1850). A naturalist and the pioneer of plant taxonomy, Ray (1627-1705) is sometimes referred to as the father of English natural history. He toured Europe extensively, studying flora and fauna - his botanical work includes the study of some 18,600 species. Ray had the view that fossils were the petrified remains of animals and plants, although this was not actually accepted until a century later. Taken from the book Old England's Worthies. (London, c1850).