Philip Henry Gosse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Philip Henry Gosse
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Gosse in 1855
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| Born | 6 April 1810 Worcester, Worcestershire, England
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| Died | 23 August 1888 (aged 78) Torquay, Torbay, England
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| Known for | Marine biology, aquarium pioneer, Omphalos ("last Thursdayism") |
| Spouse(s) | Emily Bowes |
| Children | Edmund Gosse |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Naturalist |
| Author abbrev. (zoology) | Gosse |
Philip Henry Gosse (born April 6, 1810 – died August 23, 1888) was an English naturalist. He was very good at making science popular for everyone. Gosse was also a pioneer in studying marine biology and helped improve the aquarium.
He created the first public aquarium at the London Zoo in 1853. He also invented the word "aquarium." In 1854, he wrote the first guide called The Aquarium: An Unveiling of the Wonders of the Deep Sea. His work made aquariums very popular in Victorian England.
Contents
Early Life and Discoveries
Philip Henry Gosse was born in Worcester, England, in 1810. He was the second of four children. As a child, he lived mostly in Poole, Dorset. His aunt, Susan Bell, taught him how to draw. She also introduced him to zoology, the study of animals.
First Jobs and Travels
At age 15, Gosse started working as a clerk in Poole. In 1827, he sailed to Newfoundland, Canada. There, he worked as a clerk for a company. He taught himself about the insects of Newfoundland. He was the first person to study and record the island's insects in a detailed way. He even wrote and drew a book about them, called "Entomologia Terra Novae," but it was never published.
In 1835, Gosse moved to Compton, Quebec, in Canada. He tried farming there for three years, but it was not successful. This time helped him love natural history even more. People in the area called him "that crazy Englishman who goes about picking up bugs." He also joined the Natural History Society of Montreal.
In 1838, Gosse worked as a teacher for eight months in Alabama, USA. He taught children on a large farm called a plantation. He studied and drew the local plants and animals. He put together a book called Entomologia Alabamensis about insects in Alabama. Gosse saw slavery on these plantations. He wrote about his negative feelings about it later in his book Letters from Alabama (1859).
Becoming a Naturalist and Writer
Gosse returned to England in 1839. It was hard for him to make a living at first. But then, a publisher agreed to print his book, Canadian Naturalist (1840). The book was written as a talk between a father and son. It was praised for showing how important it was to protect nature. This idea was very new for his time.
Gosse also opened a school for young gentlemen. He kept detailed notes about tiny creatures he studied under a microscope. He also started to preach and lead Bible classes.
Exploring Seashore Life
In 1843, Gosse stopped teaching to write An Introduction to Zoology. This book made him even more interested in plants and animals of the seashore. In his book, he showed he believed in creationism. This was a common belief for naturalists before Charles Darwin's ideas became widely known.
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In 1844, Gosse sailed to Jamaica. He spent 18 months there collecting animal specimens for a dealer. He focused on birds and is known as "the father of Jamaican ornithology" (the study of birds). He hired local young people to help him. He especially praised one assistant named Samuel Campbell. When he returned to London in 1846, Gosse wrote three books about Jamaica's natural history. These books made him famous as a naturalist and writer. He also discovered several new types of reptiles that live only in Jamaica.
Aquarium Pioneer
As Gosse became more financially stable, he married Emily Bowes in 1848. She was a strong person and a talented writer. They were very happy together. Their only son, Edmund Gosse, was born in 1849.
Gosse wrote many books and articles about natural history. Some were simple books for religious publications. These books often talked about God's creation and were popular for children to read on Sundays.
The Aquarium Craze
Gosse started to spend more time on the coast of Devon, England. He wanted to find ways to keep sea creatures alive so he could study them closely. In 1854, he published his famous book, The Aquarium. This book started a huge trend in Victorian England for people to have aquariums in their homes. The book made Gosse a lot of money and received great reviews.
In 1856, Gosse was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society. This was a great honor because he did not have a university job or inherited wealth. It gave him an important standing in the scientific community.
Sadly, a few months before this honor, his wife Emily found out she had breast cancer. She died in 1857. This loss deeply affected Gosse.
Omphalos and Later Life
After his wife's death, Gosse worked very hard on a new book. He hoped it would be his most important work. This book, called Omphalos: an Attempt to Untie the Geological Knot, was published in 1857. It tried to solve a big problem of the time. Scientists were finding evidence that the Earth was very old, but many religious people believed it was much younger.
Gosse suggested a theory called the Omphalos hypothesis. He argued that if God created the world instantly, it would look like it had existed for a long time. For example, the first man, Adam, would have had a navel (belly button), even though he was never born. Just like God might have created trees with rings that they never actually grew. Gosse believed that fossils could also be traces of life that God created instantly, even if that life had never actually lived.
However, Omphalos did not sell well. Most copies were eventually sold as waste paper.
Continued Scientific Work
Even though Omphalos was not successful, Gosse continued his scientific work. In the next three years, he published more than 30 scientific papers and four books.
Gosse and his son moved to St Marychurch, Devon. Gosse became a pastor there. He continued his studies, focusing on sea anemones. In 1860, he published Actinologia Britannica. This book was praised for its beautiful and accurate color drawings made from Gosse's own watercolors.
In 1860, Gosse married Eliza Brightwen. She was a kind woman who shared his love for natural history. Their marriage was very happy. By this time, Gosse was doing well financially from his books and investments. In 1864, Eliza received a large inheritance. This allowed Gosse to stop working as a professional writer and live a quieter life.
Gosse also began studying orchids and exchanged letters about them with Charles Darwin. Before he died, he returned to studying tiny creatures called rotifera. Much of his research appeared in a two-volume study he wrote with another zoologist, Charles Thomas Hudson.
Legacy and Commemoration
After his father's death, Edmund Gosse wrote a biography called The Life of Philip Henry Gosse (1890). Later, Edmund rewrote parts of it into a famous book called Father and Son (1907). This book tells the story of his childhood and his relationship with his father.
In 2021, a special blue plaque was placed at Poole United Reformed Church. This church was where Gosse worshipped as a young boy. In 2022, a mural (a large painting on a wall) about sea life was unveiled in Poole Town Centre. It was dedicated to Philip Henry Gosse and his important work.
Images for kids
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Philip Henry Gosse and his son Edmund Gosse, 1857.
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See also
In Spanish: Philip Henry Gosse para niños
