262 Britain's Heritage of Science 



Pennant (1726-1798) must not, however, be forgotten. In 

 his boyhood he received a copy of Francis Willughby's 

 " Ornithology," and to that he attributed his interest in 

 natural history. He was for a time an undergraduate at 

 Queen's College, Oxford, but did not proceed to a degree. 

 Shortly after leaving Oxford he travelled through Cornwall 

 and studied the minerals and fossils of the county, and in 

 1754 he travelled in Ireland, but here he kept a very imper- 

 fect diary, " such," he adds, " was the conviviality of the 

 country." In 1765 we find him visiting France and staying 

 with Buffon. He also visited Voltaire at Ferney. whom he 

 found " very entertaining and a master of English oaths " ; 

 on his return journey at the Hague he met the celebrated 

 Pallas. The first part of his " British Zoology " appeared 

 in 1766, and his " Synopsis of Quadrupeds " five years later. 



At various times in his life, Pennant thoroughly 

 explored much of the British Islands, and made copious 

 notes on the fauna, especially on the birds of the coast. In 

 1781 he published " A History of Quadrupeds," which was 

 a new and enlarged edition of his " Synopsis," and three 

 years later his " Arctic Zoology " appeared. Arctic explora- 

 tion has always fascinated our British naturalists. 



Pennant certainly occupies a leading position amongst 

 the zoologists of the eighteenth century, and although he 

 did not reach such a high standard as Buffon, he was a 

 really learned man, and he had an undoubted faculty for 

 making dry and obscure things readable and plain. 



Although, as we have said above, British zoology suffered 

 under a lull during the eighteenth century, the two Hunters, 

 William and John, helped with Pennant to keep the sacred 

 flame alight. 



William Hunter (1718-1783) was born in Lanarkshire 

 and educated at Glasgow University. He first came to 

 London as dissector to Dr. James Douglas, whose son he 

 tutored, and with him he travelled on the Continent. 

 Later, he was remarkably successful as a lecturer, being 

 eloquent, competent, and capable of illustrating his dis- 

 courses with practical dissections. His success as an 

 obstetric surgeon was great, and he was appointed Physician 

 Extraordinary to Queen Charlotte in 1764. 



