William Yarrell
| William Yarrell | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
June 3, 1784 London |
| Died | September 1, 1856 (aged 72) Yarmouth |
| Residence | London |
| Citizenship | England |
| Fields | Zoology Ornithology |
| Known for | A History of British Birds, 1843 |
William Yarrell (3 June 1784 – 1 September 1856) was an English zoologist, prolific writer, bookseller and naturalist admired by his contemporaries for his precise scientific work.
Yarrell is best known as the author of The History of British Fishes (2 vols., 1836) and A History of British Birds featuring 564 original engravings (in 3 vols., first ed. 1843, second ed. 1845, third ed. 1856). The latter went into several editions and was the standard reference work for a generation of British ornithologists. He described Bewick's swan in 1830, distinguishing it from the larger whooper swan.
Yarrell was born in Duke Street, St James, Westminster to Francis Yarrell and his wife Sarah (née Blane). His father and uncle ran a newspaper agency and bookshop. He studied at Dr Nicholson's school in Ealing. His father died in 1794, and the Yarrells moved the short distance to Great Ryder Street, where William lived the rest of his life. In 1802 he became a clerk with the Herries, Farquhar and Co. bank. In 1803 he and his cousin, Edward Jones, joined his father's business. He sometimes left the business in Jones's care, going into the countryside to fish and shoot. He acquired the reputation of being the best shot and the best angler in London, and soon also became an expert naturalist. He sent many bird specimens to Thomas Bewick who engraved them as woodcuts.
He joined the Royal Institution in 1817. His first publication, at the age of 40, was "On the Occurrence of some Rare British Birds" (1825). This was published in the 2nd volume of the 'Zoological Journal' and he later became one of that journal's editors. He was elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1825. He wrote in 1827 on the structure of the tracheae of birds, and on plumage changes in pheasants. He corresponded and shared specimens with other naturalists including Thomas Bewick (from 1825), Sir William Jardine, Prideaux John Selby, and Nicholas Aylward Vigors, as well as with the Cornish naturalist Jonathan Couch who provided him with many specimens, especially of fish.
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