Almost 400 years ago, in the small village of Black Notley,
Elizabeth Ray, a local herbalist and wife of Roger the village
blacksmith, gave birth to her third child. Their newly-born son,
christened John, would become one of the most distinguished natural
historians of all time.
John Ray was an extraordinary man. Heralded as the Father of
English Natural History, he was a pioneer, way ahead of his
contemporaries in terms of knowledge and understanding of the
natural world. One of Ray’s greatest achievements was to lay the
foundations for the classification of all living things. In
addition to being an eminent naturalist, he was also an influential
philosopher, one of the most travelled men of his time, the author
of over 25 books, an internationally honoured scholar and
scientist, a brilliant linguist, an observer of local dialects and
a collector of proverbs.
For further information, please download the PDF
below:
PDF Information Sheet - 'John
Ray'