Gilbert White
| Gilbert White | |
|---|---|
This 'portrait' is now generally regarded as inauthentic.
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| Born |
18 July 1720 Selborne, Hampshire |
| Died | 26 June 1793 (aged 72) Selborne, Hampshire |
| Nationality | English |
| Fields | |
| Alma mater | Oriel College, Oxford |
| Known for | Natural History of Selborne |
| Influences | 'Physico-theology' of John Ray, William Derham |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | G.White |
Gilbert White FRS (18 July 1720 – 26 June 1793) was a "parson-naturalist", a pioneering English naturalist and ornithologist. He remained unmarried and a curate all his life. He is best known for his Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne.
White was born in his grandfather's vicarage at Selborne in Hampshire. He was educated at the Holy Ghost School and by a private tutor in Basingstoke before going to Oriel College, Oxford. He obtained his deacon's orders in 1746, being fully ordained in 1749, and subsequently held several curacies in Hampshire and Wiltshire, including Selborne's neighbouring parishes of Newton Valence and Farringdon, as well as Selborne itself on four separate occasions. In 1752/53 White held the office of Junior Proctor at Oxford and was Dean of Oriel. In 1757 he became non-resident perpetual curate of Moreton Pinkney in Northamptonshire. After the death of his father in 1758, White moved back into the family home at The Wakes in Selborne, which he eventually inherited in 1763. In 1784 he became curate of Selborne for the fourth time, remaining so until his death. Having studied at the more prestigious Oriel, at the behest of his uncle, he was ineligible to be considered for the permanent living of Selborne, which was in the gift of Magdalen College.
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