Victorian natural scientists overlooking the Firth of Clyde: a rare, early group-photograph decoded

Abstract

The identities of four eminent nineteenth-century naturalists together in an old photograph on display at the University Marine Biological Station at Millport are revealed as Professor R. A. von Kölliker, Dr W. B. Carpenter FRS, Professor W. Sharpey FRS and Professor J. H. Balfour FRS. Brief biographies are provided. It is suggested that the photograph dates from the British Association for the Advancement of Science's meeting in Glasgow in September 1855. The venue seems likely to have been Carpenter's rented “cottage” on Holy Island, which provided a base for marine biological investigations in the adjacent Lamlash Bay, Arran. The historical significance of this notable early photograph resides in the evidence it confers regarding the relationships between these world-class scientific figures.