William Martin (naturalist)
| William Martin | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1767 Mansfield |
| Died | 31 May 1810 (aged 42–43) Macclesfield |
| Occupation | teacher |
| Known for | palaeontologist who published the first scientific study of fossils in English |
William Martin (1767 – 31 May 1810) was an English naturalist and palaeontologist who proposed that science should use fossils as evidence to support the study of natural history. Martin published the first colour pictures of fossils and the first scientific study of fossils in English.
Martin was born in Mansfield in 1767. His father worked in the hosiery business, but he left to become an actor in Ireland with the stage name of Joseph Booth. His father was also an inventor and portrait painter who died in London in 1797. Martin's abandoned mother, who was born Mallatratt, was also an actress.
Whilst still a child he appeared on the stage, both as a five-year-old dancer, and later giving recitations. It was arranged for Martin to learn draughtsmanship from James Bolton in Halifax. From 1782 to 1785 he was with a Derbyshire acting troupe when he met White Watson with whom he was to collaborate in a work on Derbyshire fossils. His work with fossils and natural history eventually led to Martin being elected a fellow of the Linnaean Society. Like Watson, Martin was influenced by the work of Derbyshire geologist, John Whitehurst. Whitehurst had published An Inquiry into the Original State and Formation of the Earth in 1778 which contained an important appendix which concerned General Observations on the Strata in Derbyshire. However, it was Abraham Mills FRS who switched Martin from zoology to palaeontology at some time before 1789. Martin published Figures and Descriptions of Petrifications collected in Derbyshire in 1793.
Martin worked with White Watson to create joint publications, but the partnership did not work well with Watson claiming that he was not receiving sufficient credit. Martin later published some of Watson's work on fossils using only his own name and without giving credit to Watson. Martin had six children with his "unfortunate, but interesting" wife who, like his parents, had been on the stage before her second marriage to Martin in 1797. In 1798 their son William Charles Linnaeus Martin was born. He was given the name Linnaeus in honour of Martin's interest in the classification of living things. His son was to write numerous books on natural history after becoming the scientific officer to the Zoological Society.
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