{{Short description|Manx naturalist (1815–1854)}} {{for|the American art historian|Edward W. Forbes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}} {{Use British English|date=May 2012}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Edward Forbes | image = Edward Forbes.jpg | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1815|2|12|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Douglas, Isle of Man]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1854|11|18|1815|2|12|df=y}} | death_place = Wardie, [[Edinburgh]] | citizenship = | ethnicity = | field = [[Natural history]] | work_institutions = [[Geological Society of London]] <br /> [[King's College London]] <br /> [[British Geological Survey|Geological Survey of Great Britain]] <br /> [[Royal School of Mines]] <br /> [[University of Edinburgh]] | alma_mater = [[University of Edinburgh]] | doctoral_advisor = | doctoral_students = | known_for = [[Azoic hypothesis]] | author_abbrev_bot = E.Forbes | author_abbrev_zoo = | prizes = | religion = | footnotes = | signature = }} '''Edward Forbes''' [[Royal Society|FRS]], [[Geological Society of London|FGS]] (12 February 1815 – 18 November 1854)<ref>{{DSB |first=Frank N. | last=Egerton, III| title=Forbes, Edward, Jr. | volume=5 | pages=66-68}}</ref> was a [[Isle of Man|Manx]] [[natural history|naturalist]]. In 1846, he proposed that the distributions of montane plants and animals had been compressed downslope, and some oceanic islands connected to the mainland, during the recent [[ice age]].<ref>{{cite wikisource | last1=Forbes | first1=Edward | title=On the connexion between the distribution of the existing fauna and flora of the British Isles, and the geological changes which have affected their area, especially during the epoch of the Northern Drift | wslink=Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain/Volume 1/On the Connexion between the Distribution of the existing Fauna and Flora of the British Isles | year=1846 | publisher=Geological Survey of Great Britain | location=London | journal=Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, and of the Museum of Economic Geology | volume=1 | pages=336–432 | firsticon=yes | noicon=yes}}</ref> This mechanism, which was the first natural explanation to explain the distributions of the same species on now-isolated islands and mountain tops, was discovered independently by [[Charles Darwin]], who credited Forbes with the idea.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Darwin|first=Charles|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/28875|title=On the origin of species|date=1871|publisher=D. Appleton and Co.|edition=5th|location=New York}}</ref> He also incorrectly deduced the so-called azoic hypothesis, that life under the sea would decline to the point that no life forms could exist below a certain depth.
==Early years== [[File:Prof Edward Forbes by Sir John Steell.jpg|thumb|Bust of Edward Forbes by Sir [[John Steell]]|alt=|left|266x266px]]Forbes was born at [[Douglas, Isle of Man|Douglas]] in the [[Isle of Man]]. His father was a well-to-do banker. As a child, Forbes was very interested in collecting insects, [[mollusk shell|shells]], [[minerals]], [[fossils]], and plants. Due to poor health, he was unable to attend school from his 5th through his 11th years. In 1828, he started attending the Athole House Academy in Douglas.
In June 1831, Forbes moved to London to study drawing but was not admitted by the Royal Academy. However, having given up on art as a profession, he trained privately and moved back to Douglas. In later years, Forbes used his artistic abilities to create humorous drawings for his publications.
In November 1832, Forbes matriculated as a medical student in the [[University of Edinburgh]] attending the lectures of [[Robert Jameson]] and Robert Knox while also being active in student societies.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Mills|first=Eric L.|date=1984|title=A view of Edward Forbes, naturalist*|url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/anh.1984.11.3.365|journal=Archives of Natural History|language=en|volume=11|issue=3|pages=365–393|doi=10.3366/anh.1984.11.3.365|issn=0260-9541|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In 1832, he studied the natural history of the Isle of Man.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=637}} Forbes's brother [[David Forbes (mineralogist)|David]] was a notable [[mineralogist]].
==Travels==
In 1833, Forbes travelled to [[Norway]] to study its botanical resources. His findings were published in [[John Claudius Loudon|Loudon]]'s ''[[Journal of Natural History|Magazine of Natural History]]'' for 1835–1836. The British Association funded his studies based on [[Marine biology dredge|dredging]] in the [[Irish Sea]] for biological specimens.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mills|first=Eric L.|date=1978|title=Edward Forbes, John Gwyn Jeffreys, and British dredging before the Challenger expedition|url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/jsbnh.1978.8.4.507|journal=Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History|language=en|volume=8|issue=4|pages=507–536|doi=10.3366/jsbnh.1978.8.4.507|issn=0037-9778|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In 1835, he travelled in France, Switzerland and Germany to study their natural histories.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=637}}
In 1836, Forbes abandoned his medical studies and moved to Paris, where he attended the lectures at the [[Jardin des Plantes]] on natural history, comparative [[anatomy]], [[geology]] and [[mineralogy]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=637}} In April 1837, Forbes traveled to [[Algiers]] to gather material for a paper on land and freshwater [[Mollusca]]. The paper was published in the ''Annals of Natural History'', vol. ii. p. 250. He remained in Edinburgh, paid for by his father.<ref name=":0" />
In 1838, Forbes published his first volume, ''Malacologia Monensis'', a synopsis of the mollusk species native to the [[Isle of Man]]. During the summer of 1838 he visited the [[Duchy of Styria]] (now part of [[Austria]] and [[Slovenia]]) and [[Carniola]] in Slovenia to gather botanical specimens.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=637}}
==Scholarly years==
===Marine biology=== In 1838, Forbes presented a paper to the [[British Association for the Advancement of Science|British Association]] at [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]] on the distribution of terrestrial [[Pulmonata]] in Europe. He was then commissioned to prepare a survey on pulmonata in the [[British Isles]]. In 1841, Forbes published his ''History of British star-fishes'', embodying extensive observations and containing 120 illustrations, all designed by Forbes.
On 17 April 1841, Forbes and naturalist [[William Thompson (naturalist)|William Thompson]], joined at Malta [[HMS Meteor (1823)|HM surveying ship ''Beacon'']], to which he had been appointed naturalist by her commander Captain [[Thomas Graves (captain)|Thomas Graves]] (1802–1856). From April 1841 until October 1842, Forbes investigated the [[botany]], [[zoology]] and geology of the [[Mediterranean]] region.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=637}}
In 1843, Forbes presented a ''Report on the Mollusca and [[Radiata]] of the [[Aegean Sea]]'',{{sfn|Forbes|1844}} to the British Association. In the report, he discussed the influence of climate and of the nature and depth of the sea bottom upon marine life. He divided the Aegean region into eight biological zones. In his [[azoic hypothesis]], Forbes stated that the sea regions below 300 [[fathom]] were entirely devoid of life.{{sfn|Anderson|Rice|2006}} This hypothesis was disproved 25 years later.{{sfn|Anderson|Rice|2006}}{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=637}}
In 1847, Forbes published ''Travels in [[Lycia]]'' with Lieut. [[Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt|T. A. B. Spratt]]. In 1848, he published his monograph on [[jellyfish]], the ''British Naked-eyed Medusae'' ([[Ray Society]]).
In 1852, Forbes published the fourth and concluding volume of Forbes and [[Sylvanus Charles Thorpe Hanley|S. Hanley's]] ''History of British Mollusca'' He also published his ''Monograph of the [[Echinoderm]]ata of the British Tertiaries'' (Palaeontographical Soc.).{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=638}}
===Posts in London=== In 1842, financial pressures forced Forbes to take the curatorship of the museum of the [[Geological Society of London]]. In 1843, he also became a professor botany at [[King's College London]].
In November 1844, Forbes resigned the curatorship and became [[palaeontologist]] to the [[British Geological Survey|Geological Survey of Great Britain]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=637}} Trilobite leading authority [[John William Salter]] was appointed on the staff of the Geological Survey and worked under Edward Forbes until 1854. Salter replaced Forbes as palaeontologist to the survey and gave his chief attention to the Palaeozoic fossils, spending much time in Wales and the border counties.
On 26 August 1848, Forbes married Emily Marianne Ashworth, the daughter of General [[Sir Charles Ashworth]].<ref name=":0" />
===Botanical studies=== In 1846, Forbes published in the ''Memoirs of the Geological Survey'' his important essay ''On the Connection between the distribution of the existing Fauna and Flora of the British Isles, and the Geological Changes which have affected their Area, especially during the epoch of the Northern Drift''.
In this essay, Forbes divided the plants of Great Britain into five geographic groups and compared them to other regions in Europe: *The West and Southwest Irish group, related to flora from [[Northern Spain]] *The Southeast Irish and Southwest English group, related to flora of the [[Channel Islands]] and nearby coastal France *The Southeast English group, characterized by species from the Northern French coast *The mountain summits group, related to [[Scandinavia]]n flora *A general or Germanic flora group
Forbes theorized that the majority of British terrestrial animals and flowering plants migrated there over [[land bridge]]s before, during and after the [[ice age]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|pp=637,638}} His theory was later discredited. (see C Reid's ''Origin of the British Flora'', 1899).
In 1851 Forbes was professor of natural history to the [[Royal School of Mines]].
In 1852 Forbes submitted an abstract to the 22nd Meeting of the [[British Association for the Advancement of Science]] in Belfast. He described the fossil plant ''Cyclopteris hyberinca'', now ''Archaeopteris hybernica'' (E.Forbs) Stur. This is the type species of the genus ''[[Archaeopteris]]'' (Dawson) Sturr. The genus is often incorrectly attributed to [[John William Dawson]] (1871), but correctly attributed to {{interlanguage link|Dionýs Štúr|de}} (1875).
===T. H. Huxley=== Forbes served as an important mentor to the young biologist [[Thomas Henry Huxley]]. During Huxley's 1846 to 1850 voyage on {{HMS|Rattlesnake|1822|6}} to [[Northern Australia]], Huxley relayed news of his discoveries back to Forbes in the United Kingdom, who then published them.
Forbes provided Huxley with introductions to influential people, wrote a favorable review of Huxley's work, and helped his admission to the [[Royal Society]] ([[Fellow of the Royal Society|FRS]]) at age 26.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Thomas Huxley: Making the 'Man of Science'|url = https://archive.org/details/thomashuxley00paul_0|url-access = registration|publisher = Cambridge University Press|date = 2003|isbn = 9780521649674|language = en|first = Paul|last = White|pages = [https://archive.org/details/thomashuxley00paul_0/page/37 37]}}</ref>
=== Illustrations === Forbes's scientific illustrations have been said to be anthropomorphic, often just hiding a human form even when depicting an invertebrate.<ref name=":0" /> <gallery> File:Forbesfrontispiece.jpg|Frontispiece to Forbes's ''Natural History of the European Seas'' (Forbes's initials are in the lower right of this cartoon depicting deep sea dredging for marine fauna) File:Forbes_cartoon.jpg|Indian cosmogony and ''Fauna Sivalensis'', cartoon by Forbes in the notebook of [[Hugh Falconer]] File:Gideon Mantell engaged in battle by Edward Forbes.jpeg|Drawing by Forbes of [[geologist]] [[Gideon Mantell]] engaged in battle with flying dinosaurs on the English coastline, c. 1830s </gallery>
==Final years== [[File:Edward Forbes' grave Dean Cemetery.JPG|thumb|Edward Forbes's grave in [[Dean Cemetery]] in Edinburgh]] In 1853 Forbes became president of the [[Geological Society of London]]. In 1854, he was appointed professor of natural history at the [[University of Edinburgh]], a long sought goal. During his later years, Forbes found more time in between lecturing and writing to order his stores of biological information.
In the summer of 1854, Forbes lectured at Edinburgh and in September served as president of the geological section at the [[Liverpool]] meeting of the [[British Science Association]]. He served briefly as Professor of Natural History in succession to Prof [[Robert Jameson]].<ref>''Cassell's Old and New Edinburgh''; vol. 6, p. 242</ref>
In November 1854, soon after the start of winter classes at Edinburgh, Forbes became ill. He died at [[Wardie Parish]], near Edinburgh, on 18 November 1854.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=638}} He was interred at the [[Dean Cemetery]] in Edinburgh.
In 1859, a former student of Forbes; [[James Hector]] dedicated [[Mount Forbes]] in what is now [[Banff National Park]] in [[Alberta, Canada]] to his memory.<ref name="SPost">{{cite web |title=Mount Forbes : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost |url=http://www.summitpost.org/mount-forbes/647606 |website=Summit Post |access-date=19 June 2019}}</ref>
The following Forbes works were issued posthumously:
*''On the Tertiary Fluviomarine Formation of the Isle of Wight'' (Geol. Survey), edited by [[Robert Alfred Cloyne Godwin-Austen|RAC Godwin-Austen]] (1856) *''The Natural History of the European Seas'', edited and continued by RAC Godwin-Austen (1859).{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=638}} Forbes's widow provided papers to George Wilson to write up the memoirs of Forbes. Wilson however died in 1859 and his sister then passed on the papers to Archibald Geikie who had met Forbes only twice. Forbes's widow married Major Yelverton in 1858 and forbade Geikie to work on the memoirs, seeking back all the papers. Forbes's brother however wished that Geikie finish the book as did the publisher Alexander Macmillan. In 1860, it was found that Yelverton had earlier married [[Theresa Yelverton|Maria Teresa Longworth]] and the separation had not been made with a witness. Yelverton was accused of bigamy and Teresa Longworth wrote about her plight in a book ''Martyrs to Circumstance.'' Mrs Forbes had two sons by Yelverton and with the case being in the limelight, she had no time to apply pressure on Geikie. Geikie however had to exercise considerable diplomacy while writing the biography as Forbes had claimed that he had been sufficiently remunerated by the School of Mines.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Browne|first=E. Janet|date=1981|title=The making of the Memoir of Edward Forbes, F.R.S.|url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/anh.1981.10.2.205|journal=Archives of Natural History|language=en|volume=10|issue=2|pages=205–219|doi=10.3366/anh.1981.10.2.205|issn=0260-9541|url-access=subscription}}</ref> {{Clear}} {{botanist|E.Forbes}}
==See also== * [[European and American voyages of scientific exploration]] * [[Gerard Krefft#"The New Museum Idea"|"The New Museum Idea"]]
==Notes== {{reflist}}
==References== *{{cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=T.R. |last2=Rice |first2= T. |date=December 2006 |title=Deserts on the sea floor: Edward Forbes and his azoic hypothesis for a lifeless deep ocean |journal=Endeavour |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=131–137 |doi=10.1016/j.endeavour.2006.10.003 |pmid=17097733}} *{{cite book | last=Forbes | first=E. | year=1844 | chapter=Report on the Mollusca and Radiata of the Aegean Sea, and on their distribution, considered as bearing on geology | title=Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science for 1843 | pages=129–193 [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/46634#page/176/mode/1up]}}
;Attribution *{{EB1911|wstitle=Forbes, Edward|volume=10|page=637, 638}} Endnotes: ** ''Literary Gazette'' (25 November 1854); ** ''Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal'' (New Ser.), (1855); ** ''Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc.'' (May 1855); ** G. Wilson and [[Archibald Geikie|A. Geikie]], ''Memoir of Edward Forbes'' (1861), in which, pp. 575–583, is given a list of Forbes's writings. ** ''Literary Papers'', edited by [[Lovell Augustus Reeve|Lovell Reeve]] (1855).
==External links== {{commons category|Edward Forbes}} * {{wikisource author-inline}} * [https://archive.org/details/b21936286 ''Memoir of Edward Forbes''], by George Wilson and Archibald Geikie (MacMillan and Edmonston co., 1861) * [http://aleph0.clarku.edu/huxley/UnColl/Gazettes/EdwForbes.html Edward Forbes obituary], by [[Thomas Henry Huxley|Thomas Huxley]] (''Journal of Science and Literary Gazette'', 1854); [[Clarke University|Clarke College]] * [https://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/manxnb/v11p125.htm Manx Worthies: Professor Edward Forbes] (and [https://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/manxnb/v12p167.htm part 2]), by A.W. Moore (''The Manx Note Book, Vol. iii'', 1887) * [http://www.wku.edu/~smithch/chronob/FORB1815.htm Chrono-biographical sketch] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515160042/http://www.wku.edu/~smithch/chronob/FORB1815.htm |date=15 May 2009 }}; [[Western Kentucky University]]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Edward}} [[Category:1815 births]] [[Category:1854 deaths]] [[Category:British geologists]] [[Category:19th-century Manx people]] [[Category:British fellows of the Royal Society]] [[Category:Academics of King's College London]] [[Category:Presidents of the Geological Society of London]] [[Category:Fellows of the Geological Society of London]] [[Category:Academics of the University of Edinburgh]] [[Category:Burials at the Dean Cemetery]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]] [[Category:People from Douglas, Isle of Man]] [[Category:British Geological Survey]] [[Category:British malacologists]] [[Category:Explorers of West Asia]] [[Category:Manx scientists]]