John Gwyn Jeffreys
Encyclopedia
John Gwyn Jeffreys was a British
conchologist and malacologist.
He was born in Swansea
into a propertied Welsh family and educated at Swansea Grammar School. He went to London
to qualify as a barrister
, which he did. His greater passion however was for conchology
. He was not satisfied simply to form a collection but was interested in all aspects of the biology
of molluscs. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society
on 2 April 1840.
He retired from the law in 1856 and began a series of dredging operations aboard his yacht, Osprey, purchased from his brother-in-law. Accompanied by other specialists in marine life
such as Edward Forbes
(1815–1854), Charles William Peach
(1800-1886), the Reverend Alfred Merle Norman
(1831-1918), George Barlee (1794-1861), Edward Waller (1803-1873) and William Thompson
(1805–1852), he dredged the seas around the Shetland Islands
, the west of Scotland
, the English Channel
, the Irish Sea
and Greenland
. A dredging expedition of the coast of France produced ten new species of mollusc. He also went on expeditions to America and Norway. He took part in several deepsea expeditions as scientific leader; the Porcupine expeditions in 1869 and 1870, the Valorous expedition to Greenland in 1875, and the French Travailleur expedition in 1880.
He bought the Greyfriars Priory at Ware in Hertfordshire. While he lived there it was a meeting-place for many British and foreign artists. He was J.P. for Hertford and High Sheriff of Herefordshire
for 1877. After the death of his wife he moved to Kensington and died there in 1885. He had married Ann Nevill in Llanelli in 1840; they had a son and four daughters.
His collection of shells and specimens was bought by William Healey Dall (1845-1927) for the Smithsonian Institution
and partly donated to the National Museum of Natural History
.
He was the grandfather of physicist
Henry Gwyn Jeffreys Moseley.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
conchologist and malacologist.
He was born in Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
into a propertied Welsh family and educated at Swansea Grammar School. He went to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to qualify as a barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
, which he did. His greater passion however was for conchology
Conchology
Conchology is the scientific or amateur study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs, however malacology studies molluscs as whole organisms, not just their shells. Conchology pre-dated malacology as a field of study. It includes the study of land and...
. He was not satisfied simply to form a collection but was interested in all aspects of the biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
of molluscs. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
on 2 April 1840.
He retired from the law in 1856 and began a series of dredging operations aboard his yacht, Osprey, purchased from his brother-in-law. Accompanied by other specialists in marine life
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
such as Edward Forbes
Edward Forbes
Professor Edward Forbes FRS, FGS was a Manx naturalist.-Early years:Forbes was born at Douglas, in the Isle of Man. While still a child, when not engaged in reading, or in the writing of verses and drawing of caricatures, he occupied himself with the collecting of insects, shells, minerals,...
(1815–1854), Charles William Peach
Charles William Peach
Charles William Peach was a British naturalist and geologist.-Biography:He was born at Wansford, Cambridgeshire; his father at the time was a saddler and harness-maker, and afterwards became an innkeeper, farming about eighty acres of land...
(1800-1886), the Reverend Alfred Merle Norman
Alfred Merle Norman
Alfred Merle Norman was an English clergyman and naturalist.-Early life:Norman was born in Exeter, England in 1831. His father was a landowner, surgeon and Deputy-Lieutenant of Somerset. He studied the molluscs and plants of Somerset at young age. He studied at Winchester College from 1844 to 1848...
(1831-1918), George Barlee (1794-1861), Edward Waller (1803-1873) and William Thompson
William Thompson (naturalist)
William Thompson was an Irish naturalist celebrated for his founding studies of the natural history of Ireland, especially in ornithology and marine biology. Thompson published numerous notes on the distribution, breeding, eggs, habitat, song, plumage, behaviour, nesting and food of birds...
(1805–1852), he dredged the seas around the Shetland Islands
Shetland Islands
Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...
, the west of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
and Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
. A dredging expedition of the coast of France produced ten new species of mollusc. He also went on expeditions to America and Norway. He took part in several deepsea expeditions as scientific leader; the Porcupine expeditions in 1869 and 1870, the Valorous expedition to Greenland in 1875, and the French Travailleur expedition in 1880.
He bought the Greyfriars Priory at Ware in Hertfordshire. While he lived there it was a meeting-place for many British and foreign artists. He was J.P. for Hertford and High Sheriff of Herefordshire
High Sheriff of Herefordshire
The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions are now...
for 1877. After the death of his wife he moved to Kensington and died there in 1885. He had married Ann Nevill in Llanelli in 1840; they had a son and four daughters.
His collection of shells and specimens was bought by William Healey Dall (1845-1927) for the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
and partly donated to the National Museum of Natural History
National Museum of Natural History
The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. Admission is free and the museum is open 364 days a year....
.
He was the grandfather of physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
Henry Gwyn Jeffreys Moseley.
External links
- works by John Gwyn Jeffreys at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...