THE BOTANISTS OF PHILADELPHIA. 1 l.~> 



Rafinesque was born near Constantinople, October 22, 

 1783, his father being a French merchant, his mother of Ger- 

 man parentage. His early life was spent in various parts of 

 Europe, principally near Marseilles, France, and in Sicily. 

 Though an omnivorous reader, claiming, in his usual 

 exaggerated way, to have read one thousand books before 

 twelve years of age, his schooling was very desultory, 

 owing largely to the roving character of his father, from 

 whom Rafinesque inherited the same disposition. In his 

 earliest childhood he became greatly interested in animals 

 and plants. Frequent walks in the neighborhood of Mar- 

 seilles gave him opportunity to make observations on 

 natural history. At this time he made a small botanic 

 garden, and also began the study of fishes, birds, shells and 

 crabs, drawing and making notes of many of them. Like 

 Darwin, he could not bear to kill animals, but preferred to 

 study them alive. 



At an early age (1802) he emigrated to this country, 

 accepting a clerkship in Philadelphia, but his roving disposi- 

 tion and his desire to study nature precluded the idea of busi- 

 ness success. Returning to Sicily he pursued various scientific 

 studies, but in 1815 he concluded to make the United States 

 his permanent home. When off the coast of Long Island 

 the ship on which he sailed foundered, and all of his 

 collections were lost. 



In 1818 he made a trip down the Ohio to Kentucky, 

 collecting a great many specimens on the way. At this 

 time he stopped three weeks with Audubon, who was not 

 altogether pleased with the eccentric performances of his 

 guest, For several years Rafinesque was professor of 

 modern languages and- natural science in the Transylvania 



