Leighton Library has a 1632 first edition of a book described as a compilation of all the contemporary zoological knowledge
Added at 07:55 on 14 March 2024
Today, 14 March, is #CelebrateScientistsDay, and #ScienceEducationDayDunblane's historic Leighton Library has a 1632 first edition of a book, described as a compilation of all the contemporary zoological knowledge, entitled "Thaumatographia naturalis, in decem classes distincta, in quibus admiranda I Coeli. II Elementorum. III Meteororum. IV Fossilium. V Plantarum. VI Avium. VII Quadrupedum. VIII Exanguium. IX Piscium. X Hominis" by Joannes Jonstonus or John Johnston (1603-1675).
This treatise is arranged in ten sections (with separate titles), which include elements, plants, birds, animals, fish, and fossils.
John Johnston was a Polish scholar, educator and physician. The standard author abbreviation Jonst. is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name. He was the son of Simon Johnston, who had emigrated to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from Scotland. He also earned his first degree at the University of St Andrews. He attended the University of Cambridge, where he studied botany and medicine and the Universities of Frankfurt, Franeker and Leiden, later also receiving a Doctorate from both Leiden and Cambridge universities