Edward Forbes
Edward Forbes (born February 12, 1815 in Douglas , Isle of Man , † November 18, 1854 in Edinburgh ) was a British naturalist and malacologist . He is considered the founder of zoogeology or biogeography and a co-founder of deep sea research .
Life
Even as a child he had a lively and varied interest; when he was not reading or writing poetry or drawing caricatures, he would collect natural history objects such as insects, shells, minerals, and plants. From the age of five to eleven he was ailing and was banned from attending school. In 1828 he received a scholarship at the Athole House Academy in Douglas (Isle of Man).
In June 1831 he left the Isle of Man and went to London, where he first studied art and drawing. In October of the same year he gave up the idea of making painting his profession. He returned home and then enrolled as a medical student at the University of Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh, the following month .
His vacation in 1832 was spent diligently working on the natural history of the Isle of Man. He was a naturalist and had no taste for the practical work of a doctor. Forbes gave up the idea of attaining a medical degree in the spring of 1836 and devoted himself entirely to the natural sciences. In the winter of 1836 to 1837 he was in Paris, where he attended lectures in the Jardin des Plantes (see also Muséum national d'histoire naturelle ) on natural history, comparative anatomy, geology and mineralogy. He left Paris in April 1837 and went to Algiers , where he worked with freshwater mollusks. In the autumn of the same year he enlisted in Edinburgh as a literary student, and in 1838 his first volume, Malacologia monensis , an overview of the species of the Isle of Man and its surroundings.
In 1841 Forbes became curator of the Museum of the Geological Society of London , in 1842 professor of natural history at King's College London and in 1844 paleontologist of the British Geological Survey. In 1853 he became President of the Geological Society of London and shortly before his death Regius Professor of Natural History at the University of Edinburgh .
Excursions
In 1833 he made an excursion to Arendal , southern Norway , the botanical results of this trip were published in Loudon's Magazine of Natural History , 1835–1836. In the summer of 1834 he devoted much time to excavations in the Irish Sea and the following year he traveled to France, Switzerland and Germany.
Forbes took part in a Mediterranean expedition with the Beacon from 1841 to 1842, which left him with manifold impressions.
Scientific achievement
By catching a starfish from a depth of approx. 400 m, Forbes proved that marine life is not limited to areas near the surface.
From his observations, however, he concluded that marine life became increasingly species-poor at increasing depths, and he hypothesized that the deep sea below 300 fathoms (approx. 500 m) was an azoic zone in which no life existed (abyssal Theory). Or, to put it another way, that the biodiversity in the sea decreases rapidly with depth.
Works
- History of British Starfishes, 1841
- On the Connection between the distribution of the existing Fauna and Flora of the British Isles, and the Geological Changes which have affected their Area, especially during the epoch of the Northern Drift, 1846
- A history of British Mollusca, and their shells. London: van Voorst, 1853
literature
- RC Preece, IJ Killeen Edward Forbes (1815-1854) and Clement Reid (1853-1916): two generations of pioneering polymaths , Archives of Natural History, Volume 22, 1995, 419-435.
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Forbes, Edward |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British naturalist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 12, 1815 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Douglas , Isle of Man |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 18, 1854 |
| Place of death | Edinburgh |