Joshua Brookes(24 November 1761 – 10 January 1833) was a Britishanatomistandnaturalist.
Joshua Brookes | |
|---|---|
 Joshua Brookes, byThomas Phillips,1815 | |
| Born | 24 November 1761 |
| Died | 10 January 1833(aged 71) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation(s) | Britishanatomistandnaturalist |
| Known for | Fellow of the Royal Society |
Early life
editBrookes studied underWilliam Hunter,William Hewson,Andrew Marshall, andJohn Sheldon,in London. He then attended the practice ofAntoine Portaland other eminent surgeons at theHôtel-Dieu de Paris.[1]
Brookesian Museum
editBrookes became a teacher of anatomy in London, and the founder of the Brookesian Museum of Comparative Anatomy. This private museum is described in the 1830 catalogueMuseum Brookesianum.[2]
Later life
editElected aFellow of the Royal Societyin 1819, Brookes gave up teaching in 1826, in bad health. After vainly endeavouring to dispose of his museum collection entire, he sold it off piecemeal. The final sale took place on 1 March 1830, and on 22 following days. He died on 10 January 1833 in Great Portland Street, London.[1]
Works
editBrookes was the first to place theCheetahin its owngenus,which he established in 1828 asAcinonyx.
His published writings included:[1]
- Lectures on the Anatomy of the Ostrich(The Lancet,vol. xii.);
- Brookesian Museum,1827;
- Catalogue of Zootomical Collection,1828;
- Address to the Zoological Club of the Linnean Society,1828;
- Thoughts on Cholera,1831, proposing hygienic and sanitary precautions; and
- a description of a new genus ofRodentia(Trans. Linn. Soc.,1829).
Legacy
editThegeneric name,Brookesia,is in honour of Joshua Brookes.[3] Joshua Brookes once encountered Chang and Eng, the original Siamese Twins. According to Frederick Drimmer's bookVery Special People,Brookes "provided a document declaring that the twins 'constitute a most extraordinary Lusus Naturae [sport of nature], the first instance I have seen of a double living child; they being totally devoid of deception, afford a very interesting spectacle, and they are highly deserving of public patronage.'"
References
edit- Dobson, J. (1952)Eighteenth Century Anatomists: Joshua Brookes, Practitioner,180–4.
Notes
edit
- ^abcStephen, Leslie,ed. (1886)..Dictionary of National Biography.Vol. 6. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^Museum Brookesianum: a descriptive and historical catalogue of the remainder of the anatomical & zootomical museum, of Joshua Brookes, Esq. F.R.S. F.L.S. F.Z.S. &c.[London]: Printed by Richard Taylor. 1830.Retrieved28 September2017.
- ^Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011).The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles.Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp.ISBN978-1-4214-0135-5.( "Brookes", p. 40).
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Stephen, Leslie,ed. (1886). "Brookes, Joshua (1761-1833)".Dictionary of National Biography.Vol. 6. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
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