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GRAY, JOHN EDWARD, F.K.S. 



GRAY, JOHN EDWARD, F.R.S. 



dvil aod political *y**tn of BOOM. la the Moond book, ' Do Jura 

 NaloimU Gentium, *t XII. TabuUrum,' he follow* the progm* of 



hi HMD* tl> A *T the Republic, and b* shows the connection 

 UM Ronuo laws and th feoeral principle* of juitioe, which 



I Roman* ***m to have kept in view in their civil enactment* more 

 than aay other nation of antiquity. The author also canfully illustrate* 

 UM fraf mrats of UM Twelve Table*. The third book, ' De Legibus et 

 flaialii* Coosulti*.' complete* tl.i* sketch of Roman jurisprudence ; 

 and the author traate at length of the opinion* or decision* of the 

 i jurists who war* often consulted by the senate, and whoso 

 jo**' form a moat important part of the Roman law. He also 

 of UM modern jurist* who lived after the restoration of the 

 n law in the Wert, beginning from Irnerius, or Varnerius, a pro- 

 of Bologna in the llth century, who, at the desire of the Countess 

 ilda, revived the knowledge of the Justinian Code many yean 

 before the reported diaoovery of the Pandect* by the Pisans at Amain, 

 and pasting in review those who followed in successive age* down to 

 hi* own time. The publication of the ' Originum Juris Civilis ' attracted 

 universal attention throughout Europe, and Montesquieu and other 

 competent judge* have bestowed praise on the manner in which the 

 author handle* hi* subject*, and the many luminous principles and 

 happy definitions contained iu the work. The best edition is that of 

 Leipzig. 8 vols. 4to, 1737. It ha* been translated into French under 

 the title of ' Esprit de* Lois Romainea,' Paris, 1766. Graviua wrote 

 also 1. ' De Romano Imperio liber siogularis,' an inferior performance, 

 in which the author seems intent on flattering the vanity of the modern 

 Roman*. 2. 'Delia Ragion Poetica,' being a treatise on the art of 

 poetry. 3. ' Inititutiones CanonicK,' published at Turin after his 

 death ; besides several very inferior tragedies, some orations, and other 

 npu*CTil Fabbroni published a biography of Gravina. (Corniani, 

 Steoli tiflla Lflleralnra llaliana, art ' Gravina.') 



GRAY, JOHN EDWARD, Ph. D., F.R.S., a distinguished living 

 naturalist, the head of the natural history department of the British 

 Museum. The history of this eminent naturalist is essentially con- 

 nected with the national institution to which he has been attached for 

 upwards of thirty year*. Within the hut fifty years the British 

 Museum has bad annually large sums spent upon its collections, and 

 in no department has it* progress been more conspicuous than that 

 of natural history. With the exception of the mineralogy, paleon- 

 tology, and botany, the whole has been under the direction of Dr. Gray ; 

 and if at the present moment it can boast of being the largest aud 

 moat complete museum in the world, it is mainly due to the energy, 

 perseverance, and extensive knowledge that he has brought to bear 

 upon it* management. But whilst Dr. Gray has been thus engaged iu 

 superintending the collection and arrangement of this vast museum, 

 be has not lost any of the great opportunities it has afforded him of 

 adding to the literature of zoology. He possesses a remarkable power 

 of seizing on the distinguishing features of animal forms, and his posi- 

 tion ha* enabled him to describe and classify a larger number than has 

 perhaps been done by any other naturalist. For the last thirty years 

 bis contributions to the literature of zoology have been constant and 

 unceasing. The mere list of his papers, memoirs, and works occupies 

 severs 1 page* of the Bibliography of Zoology and Geology of Agassiz 

 and Strickland.' At the date of the publication of that work (1852) 

 they amounted to 425, and a Urge number hare been added since. 

 The most conspicuous of these works are the catalogues of the British 

 Museum. Of these, the whole series of which are not concluded, the 

 Mammalia, the Ktflilit, the Mullutca, aud a large proportion of the 

 Kadiala, have been executed by Dr. Gray himself. Many of these 

 catalogues are not mere lists of the animals in the museum, but con- 

 tain an extensive synonymy and copious notes on specimens, and on 

 the habit* and uses of the particular species described. 



The writings of Dr. Gray may be divided as follows : 1, On the 

 general aubjectof Natural History ; 2, on the Mammalia; 3, on Birds; 

 4, on Reptiles; 6, on Fishes; 6, on Articulate Animals; 7, on the 

 MoUtuea ; 8, on the Kadiala. Under the first head may be included 

 the 'Zoological Miscellany/ published from 1835 to 1845, and includ- 

 ing description* of variou* animals; his 'Synopsis of the Contents 

 of UM British Museum,' published in 1840; also various papers on " 

 c Uaafication of the animal kingdom, such as his memoir ' On 



read it the British Association iu 1841, On the Geographical Distri- 

 bution of the Animal* of New Holland;' ' Illustrations of Indian 

 Zoology,' London, 1880; ' Spicilegia Zoologies, or original figures and 

 fhort systematic descriptions of New and Unfigured Animals,' 1828-30 ; 

 Gleaning* from the Menagerie and Aviary at Knowsley Hall,' 1846-60. 

 His evidence before the Select Committee of the House of Commons 

 on the British Museum, and before the commissioner* on the state of 

 the British Museum, at various time* from 1837 to 1849, and hi report 

 to UM Bam* commiation, contain a large body of important and valuable 

 information op the subject of museums generally, and the management 

 of the natural history department of the British Museum. 



Hi. paper* on the Mammalia in particular embrace the descriptions 

 of a large number of new specie*, and have been furnished to various 

 scientific journal*, or have appeared in the volume* devoted to the 

 dawription of the natural history collection* of variou* traveller*. 



A* examples of the papers we may refer to his ' Description of some 

 New Genera, and Fifty unrecorded Species of Mammalia,' in the tenth 

 volume of the ' Aunal* and Magazine of Natural History.' The 

 Mammalia collected in King's survey of the coast of Australia, in the 

 voyage* of the Erebus and Terror, and of the Samarang, were described 

 by Dr. Gray. Every order into which the large class of Mammalia 

 baa been divided has met with attention from Dr. Gray, and he has 

 added not a few genera and specie* to these prominent forms of the 

 animal kingdom. The catalogues of the British Museum, embracing 

 the fiuwinantiu and the Celacea, are the most complete amongst the 

 Mammalia, and contain a large amount of valuable and interesting 

 information. The number of Dr. Gray's papers devoted to the 

 Mammalia, contained in Agassiz's 'Bibliography,' amounts to one 

 hundred and two. 



To the Birds, Dr. Gray has not devoted so much attention. This 

 department in the British Museum is ably superintended by hU brother, 

 Mr. GEOHUE ROBEUT GRAY, who is known all over the world for his 

 ' Genera of Birds,' and who has written the British Museum Cata- 

 logues embracing this class of animals. Nevertheless Dr. Gray has 

 at various times exercised his critical powers upon the family of 

 Birds, and demonstrated that he is as familiar with this as any 

 other class of animals. His papers on Birds amount to twenty-nine 

 in number. 



It is however as a herpetologist that Dr. Gray hai most distinguished 

 himself. The class of Reptiles has received at the hands of naturalists 

 a neglect which can only be accounted for on the supposition that the 

 general disgust at these creatures is participated in by even philoso- 

 phers themselves. Dr. Gray has however not shared in this feeling, 

 and has devoted a larger portion of bis attention to these animals than 

 any other. His 'Synopsis of the Species of the Class Reptilia,' iu 

 Griffith's translation of Cuvier ; ' Outline of the Arrangement of 

 Reptiles, with Characters of Families and List of Genera ;' ' New 

 Arrangement of Reptiles,' in the first volume of the 'Annals and 

 Magazine of Natural History;' the ' List of Reptiles in Australia,' in 

 King's ' Survey ;' the 'General Arrangement of the Keptilio,' iu tho 

 ' Proceedings of the Zoological Society ;' the ' Systematic Arrangement 

 of Reptiles,' iu the ' Synopsis of the Contents of the British Museum ;' 

 are all proofs of how large a share of his attention has been given to 

 the class of Reptiles. To these must be added upwards of sixty papers, 

 describing new species brought from various parts of the world, or 

 devoted to a consideration of their structure and habits. 



The Fishes have perhaps received less attention from Dr. Gray than 

 any of the vertebrated animals. This arises however from a very 

 obvious circumstance. Fishes cannot be skinned aud preserved dry 

 with so much facility as other animals, and there has always existed 

 a prejudice in the British Museum with regard to moist preparations. 

 Hence the museum has been devoted rather to tha illustration of the 

 external forms of animals than to their internal structure, and Dr. 

 Gray has not had the opportunity of studying fish as he has hud of 

 other animals. He bos however described several new species of fishes, 

 and published a 'List of the British Fish iu the Collection of the 

 British Museum.' His papers on this department of zoology amount 

 to twenty in number. 



The whole collection of Shells in the British Museum, exceeded 

 however both in number and value by the private collection of Mr. 

 Hugh fuming, has afforded to Dr. Gray great opportunities of studying 

 the Mollusca. His labours are more complete in this department 

 perhaps than any other. Not only has he published papers and 

 memoirs on the arrangement and classification of the shells of these 

 animals, but many on th ir habits, structure, economy, and use, as the 

 following papers indicate: 'On the Eyes of Mollusca;' 'On the 

 Structure of Pearls ;' ' On Perforations made by Patella aud Pholas ;' 

 ' On the Byssus of Unio;' ' Observations on the Economy of Molluscous 

 Animals, aud on the Structure of their Shells.' This lost paper was 

 printed in the ' Philosophical Transactions,' aud afterwards in John- 

 ston's ' Introduction to Conchology.' At the same time that Dr. Gray, 

 in his papers on Mollusca, has displayed his appreciation of the im- 

 portance of the study of comparative anatomy, one of the great defects 

 discoverable in his contributions to systematic zoology is a want of 

 recognition of tho labours of the anatomist. This has probably arisen 

 from the defective constitution of the British Museum, iu which no 

 arrangement has hitherto been made for displaying the internal 

 structure of animals a condition at least as necessary for the study 

 of animal life as the exhibition of their external forms. Dr. Gray's 

 papers on the subject of the Mollutca amounted in 1852 to the large 

 number of one hundred and nineteen, and many have been added since. 

 The moat important of these is his 'Systematic Arrangement of .Mol- 

 luscous Animals, with Characters of Families.' We ought also to add 

 here that Dr. Gray has an admirable assistant in his conchological 

 studies in Mrs. Gray, who has published a work consisting of 'Figures 

 of Molluscous Animals, for the Use of Students,' descriptions of which 

 have been given by Dr. Gray. 



In the remaining divisions of tho animal kingdom Dr. Gray has not 

 been idle. Upwards of seventy papers attest his industry in the study 

 of Articulate and Radiate Animals. These have been more especially 

 devoted to those specimens which form part of the dry collection of 

 the British Museum. Thus the Crustacea, Insects, and Cirripedos 

 amongst the articulate, and the Star-Fishes, Sea-Eggs, Sponges, and 



