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Natural history

Natural history is an umbrella term for what are now usually viewed as several distinct scientific disciplines List of academic disciplines

This is a list of academic disciplines.... 

. Most definitions include the study of living things ; other definitions extend the topic to include paleontology Paleontology

Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of the developing history of life [i] on Earth [i], in ... 

, ecology Ecology

Ecology, or ecological science, is the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of living organisms [i] ... 

 or biochemistry Biochemistry

Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organism [i]s ... 

, as well as parts of geology Geology

Geology anetary geology]] [i] refers to the application of geologic principles to other bodies of the solar... 

, astronomy Astronomy

Astronomy is the science [i] of celestial objects and phenomena [i] that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere [i] ... 

, and physics Physics

Physics , the most fundamental physical science [i], is concerned with the underlying principles of the ... 

 and even meteorology Meteorology

Meteorology is the scientific study of the atmosphere [i] that focuses on weather [i] ... 

. A person interested in natural history is known as a naturalist.

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Encyclopedia



Natural history is an umbrella term for what are now usually viewed as several distinct scientific disciplines List of academic disciplines

This is a list of academic disciplines.... 

. Most definitions include the study of living things ; other definitions extend the topic to include paleontology Paleontology

Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of the developing history of life [i] on Earth [i], in... 

, ecology Ecology

Ecology, or ecological science, is the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of living organisms [i] ... 

 or biochemistry Biochemistry

Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organism [i]s ... 

, as well as parts of geology Geology

Geology anetary geology]] [i] refers to the application of geologic principles to other bodies of the solar... 

, astronomy Astronomy

Astronomy is the science [i] of celestial objects and phenomena [i] that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere [i] ... 

, and physics Physics

Physics , the most fundamental physical science [i], is concerned with the underlying principles of the ... 

 and even meteorology Meteorology

Meteorology is the scientific study of the atmosphere [i] that focuses on weather [i] ... 

. A person interested in natural history is known as a naturalist.

History of natural history

The roots of natural history go back to Aristotle Aristotle

Aristotle was an ancient Greek [i] philosopher [i], a student of Plato [i] ... 

 and other ancient philosophers who analyzed the diversity of the natural world. From the ancient Greeks until the work of Carolus Linnaeus Carolus Linnaeus

Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement [i] as Carl von Linn, , was a ... 

 and other 18th century naturalists, the central concept tying together the various domains of natural history was the scala naturae or Great Chain of Being Great chain of being

The great chain of being or scala naturae is a classical [i] and western medieval [i] ... 

, which arranged minerals, vegetables, animals, and higher beings on a linear scale of increasing "perfection." Natural history was basically static through the Middle Ages, when the work of Aristotle was adapted into Christian philosophy, particularly by Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas

Saint Thomas Aquinas [Thomas of Aquin, or Aquino] was an Italian [i] philosopher [i]... 

, forming the basis for natural theology. In the Renaissance Renaissance

In the traditional view, the Renaissance was understood as a historical age in Europe [i] that follo ... 

, scholars returned to direct observation of plants and animals for natural history, and many began to accumulate large collections of exotic specimens and unusual monsters. The rapid increase in the number of known organisms prompted many attempts at classifying and organizing species into taxonomic groups, culminating in the system of Linnaeus.

In the 18th century 18th century

As a means of recording the passage of time [i], the 18th century refers to the century [i] that las ... 

 and well into the 19th century 19th century

The 19th century lasted from 1801 [i] through 1900 [i] in the Gregorian calendar [i].
... 

, natural history as a term was frequently used to refer to all descriptive aspects of the study of nature, as opposed to political or ecclesiastical history; it was the counterpart to the analytical study of nature, natural philosophy. As such, the subject area would include aspects of physics, astronomy Astronomy

Astronomy is the science [i] of celestial objects and phenomena [i] that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere [i] ... 

, archeology Archaeology

Archaeology, archeology, or archology is the study of human [i] culture [i]s through... 

, etc.; this broad usage is still used for some institutions including museums and societies. Beginning in Europe, professional disciplines such as physiology, botany Botany

Botany is the scientific study [i] of plant [i]life [i]. ... 

, zoology Zoology

Zoology is the biological [i] discipline [i] which involves the study of animal [i] ... 

, geology Geology

Geology anetary geology]] [i] refers to the application of geologic principles to other bodies of the solar... 

, and later cytology and embryology, formed. Natural history, formerly the main subject taught by college science professors, was increasingly relegated to an amateur activity, rather than a part of science proper. Particularly in Britain and America, this grew into specialist hobbies such as the study of birds, butterflies and wildflowers; meanwhile, scientists tried to define a unifed discipline of biology Biology

Biology is the branch of science [i] dealing with the study of life [i]. ... 

 . Still, the traditions of natural history continued to play a part in late 19th- and 20th-century biology, especially ecology Ecology

Ecology, or ecological science, is the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of living organisms [i] ... 

, ethology, and evolutionary biology.

Amateur collectors and natural history entrepreneurs played an important role in building the large natural history collections of the 19th and early-20th centuries, particularly the Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum [i] complex, ... 

's National Museum of Natural History National Museum of Natural History

The National Museum of Natural History is a museum [i] administered by the Smithsonian Institution [i], ... 

.

Natural history museums


The term "natural history" forms the descriptive part of institution names, such as the Natural History Museum Natural History Museum

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The Natural History Museum is one of three large museum [i]s on Exhibition Road [i], South Kensington [i] ... 

 in London London

London is the capital [i] city of England [i] and of the United Kingdom [i]. ... 

, the Humboldt Museum für Naturkunde Humboldt Museum

The Museum fr Naturkunde, widely known as the Humboldt Museum of Berlin, is the first national museum [i] ... 

 in Berlin, the Grigore Antipa Museum of Natural History in Bucharest, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C., the Cleveland Museum of Natural History Cleveland Museum of Natural History

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is a natural history [i] museum [i] located approximately five m ... 

, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania [i] in the United States [i] ... 

, the Field Museum of Natural History Field Museum of Natural History

The Field Museum of Natural History, in Chicago, Illinois [i], USA [i], sits on Lake Shore Drive [i] nex ... 

 in Chicago Chicago

Chicago is the largest city [i] in the U.S. state [i] of Illinois [i], as well as the third-most populous [i] ... 

, the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the largest city [i] in the Pacific Northwest [i] region of the United States [i]. ... 

, the Peabody Museum of Natural History Peabody Museum

The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University [i] was founded by the philanthropist [i] George Peabody [i] ... 

 in New Haven New Haven, Connecticut

New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut [i] after Bridgeport [i] . ... 

, and the American Museum of Natural History American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History is a landmark of Manhattan [i]'s Upper West Side [i] in New York [i] ... 

 in New York City New York City

[i] in the [[United States]... 

, which also publishes a magazine called Natural History.

Natural history museums, which evolved from cabinets of curiosities Cabinet of curiosities

Cabinets of curiosities were collections of natural history [i] artifacts kept by many early practitione ... 

, played an important role in the emergence of professional biological disciplines and research programs. Particularly in the 19th century, scientists began to use their natural history collections as teaching tools for advanced students and the basis for their own morphological research.

For more museums, see

Natural history societies


The term "natural history" alone, or sometimes together with archaeology, forms the name of many national, regional and local natural history societies that maintain records for birds Bird

Birds are biped [i]al, warm-blooded [i], oviparous [i] vertebrate [i] animals characterized [i] ... 

 , mammals, insect Insect

Insects are invertebrate [i]s that are taxonomically [i] referred to as the class Inse ... 

s and plant Plant

Plants are a major group of living things [i] including familiar organism [i]s such as tree [i]s, flower [i] ... 

s . They may also have microscopical Microscope

A microscope is an instrument for viewing objects that are too small to be seen by the naked or unaided... 

 and geological Geology

Geology anetary geology]] [i] refers to the application of geologic principles to other bodies of the solar... 

 sections.

Examples of these societies in Britain include the British Entomological and Natural History Society founded in 1872, Birmingham Birmingham

Birmingham is a city [i] and metropolitan borough [i] in the West Midlands [i] ... 

 Natural History Society, Glasgow Glasgow

The city was formerly a royal burgh [i], and was known as the "Second City [i] of the British Empire [i] ... 

 Natural History Society, London London

London is the capital [i] city of England [i] and of the United Kingdom [i]. ... 

 Natural History Society, Manchester Manchester

The City of Manchester is a major city [i] and metropolitan borough [i] in the North [i] of England [i], ... 

 Microscopical and Natural History Society established in 1880 and the Sorby Natural History Society, Sheffield Sheffield

!colspan=2 align=center bgcolor="#ff9999"|City of Sheffield
... 

, founded in 1918. The growth of natural history societies was also spurred due to the growth of British colonies in tropical regions with numerous new species to be discovered. Many civil servants took an interest in their new surroundings, sending specimens back to museums in Britain.

See also


  • Natural philosophy
  • Natural science Natural science

    In science [i], natural science is the rational [i] study of the universe [i] via rules or laws o ... 

  • Naturalism
  • Nature writing
  • Nature Nature

    Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, mat... 

  • Nature study

References


  • Kohler, Robert E. Landscapes and Labscapes: Exploring the Lab-Field Border in Biology. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 2002.
  • Mayr, Ernst. The Growth of Biological Thought: Diversity, Evolution, and Inheritance. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press: Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1982.
  • Rainger, Ronald; Keith R. Benson; and Jane Maienschein, editors. The American Development of Biology. University of Pennsylvania Press: Philadelphia, 1988.

External links