Margaret Gatty facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Margaret Gatty
Born	3 June 1809 Burnham on Crouch, England
Died	4 October 1873(1873-10-04) (aged 64)
Nationality	English
Other names	Margaret Scott
Education	at home
Known for	children's books; marine biology
Spouse(s)	Rev. Alfred Gatty
Children	Horatia Katherine Francis Gatty, Juliana Horatia Ewing, Charles Tindal Gatty, Alfred Scott-Gatty
Parent(s)	Rev. Alexander John and Mary Frances (née Ryder) Scott

Margaret Gatty (born Scott, 3 June 1809 – 4 October 1873) was an English writer. She is known for her children's books and her work on marine biology. She also wrote about sundials. Margaret Gatty became a popular author of stories for young people. She hoped her stories would also teach adults. Some of her famous books include Parables from Nature and Aunt Judy's Tales. She also edited Aunt Judy's Magazine, a family magazine with articles written by her family members.

Exploring Marine Life

Margaret Gatty became very interested in marine biology, which is the study of ocean life. She was inspired by her cousin, Charles Henry Gatty, who was a member of the Royal Society. She also met William Henry Harvey, another important marine biologist. Margaret Gatty wrote to many leading marine biologists of her time, like George Busk and Robert Brown.

Her most famous science book was British Sea Weeds. This book, published in 1872, made the topic of seaweeds easier to understand than previous books. It took her 14 years to complete and described 200 different types of seaweed. This book was still used by scientists and students even in the 1950s.

Gatty also collected and studied sundials. In 1872, she wrote a book about 350 sundials. She focused on their artistic beauty and the stories behind them, rather than just how they told time. Her friend, Eleanor Lloyd, helped a lot by adding information about European sundials and providing illustrations.

Writing for Young Readers

Margaret Gatty combined her love for literature and science in her children's books. She used her stories to share her ideas about nature and faith. Her book Parables from Nature was especially popular. In these stories, she taught children about God and nature at the same time.

Her Parables were published around the same time as Charles Darwin's ideas about evolution. Her writing helped shape how children thought about science. Her stories often had strong moral lessons and used religion to guide children's upbringing.

During the Victorian era, many children's books aimed to teach lessons rather than just entertain. Margaret Gatty made her books more enjoyable by adding more illustrations and using folk and fairy tales. This made children want to read her books more.

Selected Books

Here are some of the books Margaret Gatty wrote for children:

• The Fairy Godmothers and Other Tales (1851) – This book had four stories dedicated to her own children.
• Parables from Nature (published in parts from 1855 to 1871) – This was a series of popular stories.
• Legendary Tales (1858) – This book included illustrations by an artist known as Phiz.
• Aunt Judy's Tales (1859)
• Aunt Judy's Letters (1862) – This was a follow-up to Aunt Judy's Tales.

She also helped write and translate other works:

• Recollections of the Life of the Rev. A. J. Scott D.D., Lord Nelson's chaplain (1842)
• Travels and Adventures of the Rev. Joseph Wolff (1861) – She and her daughters helped Joseph Wolff write his life story.

Her Life Story

Margaret Gatty was born in Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, England. Her father, Rev. Alexander John Scott, was a scholar and a chaplain in the Royal Navy. He served with Lord Nelson. Margaret's mother passed away when she was young. Margaret then helped care for her father, grandfather, and younger sister, Horatia.

Margaret and her sister were taught at home. They learned Italian and German, and also practiced painting and writing poetry.

In 1839, Margaret married Rev. Alfred Gatty. They moved to the vicarage of the Church of St Mary, Ecclesfield near Sheffield, where she lived for the rest of her life. They had eight children together.

Margaret often had poor health throughout her life. A doctor named George Johnston, who believed in using pain relief, advised her. In 1851, Margaret Gatty was one of the first women in Sheffield to use pain relief during childbirth. She passed away at home on 4 October 1873 and was buried in the Ecclesfield churchyard.

Margaret Gatty was the mother of Juliana Horatia Ewing, who also became a famous children's writer. Her daughter Horatia Eden shared her interest in marine biology and continued to add to her mother's collections.

Her Lasting Impact

A special marble tablet was placed in the Church of St Mary, Ecclesfield, to remember Margaret Gatty. More than 1,000 children helped pay for it, showing their thanks for the many books she wrote for them. There is also a stained glass window in the church dedicated to her. It shows her image, along with scenes from the Sermon on the Mount and several parables.

Margaret Gatty collected a huge amount of marine specimens. She gathered some herself, and others were sent to her by people from all over the British Empire and the UK.

After her death, her daughter, Horatia Katherine Francis Eden, gave these collections to two places. Part of her seaweed and sponge collection went to the Weston Park Museum. This included 350 items, like albums and individual specimens.

In 1907, another part of Margaret Gatty’s plant collection was given to the Gatty Marine Laboratory in St Andrews. It later became part of the St Andrews University Herbarium. Today, there are 8,825 specimens and 500 plates from her collection at St Andrews.

Several types of seaweed have been named after her, including an Australian type called Gattya pinnella.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Cousin, John William (1910). A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London: J. M. Dent & Sons. Wikisource

See also

In Spanish: Margaret Scott Gatty para niños