The careering naturalists: creating career paths in natural history, 1790–1830 (Patron's review)

Abstract

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, before the professionalization of the sciences, naturalists followed career paths without any clearly defined structure. Each individual naturalist was compelled to carve out a niche for himself – deciding how he would enter the field, establish a reputation, win an audience, and earn an income. To elucidate some of the options open to aspiring naturalists, I examine the career of Edward Donovan (1768–1837) who worked as a writer, artist, engraver, collector, curator and popularizer of natural history. I compare elements of his career to those of contemporaries George Shaw (1751–1813) and Alexander Macleay (1767–1848) to show how different choices could affect one's life and livelihood in natural history. This close study exposes the inherent idiosyncrasies of a career in natural history, and demonstrates some of the practical difficulties of commercializing the field.