83-563: George Samouelle ( c. 1790 –1846) was a curator in the British Museum (Natural History) of "no real scientific aptitude". Originally employed as a bookseller for Longman & Co. , Samouelle joined the Natural History Museum at the same time as William Elford Leach . Leach appears to have aided Samouelle greatly, with Bate & Westwood stating "Dr. Leach is the principal authority for Samouelle's work"; when Leach left
166-593: A French sculptor based in London, M Dujardin, working to drawings prepared by the architect. The central axis of the museum is aligned with the tower of Imperial College London (formerly the Imperial Institute) and the Royal Albert Hall and Albert Memorial further north. These all form part of the complex known colloquially as Albertopolis . Even after the opening, the Natural History Museum legally remained
249-509: A Medicine for Soreness, Weakness and other Distempers of the Eyes (London, 1745), was not published until its author was in his eighty-fifth year and had retired from practice. In 1716 Sloane was created a baronet, making him the first medical practitioner to receive a hereditary title. In 1719 he became president of the Royal College of Physicians , holding the office for sixteen years. In 1722 he
332-511: A broad theme. This is the zone that can be entered from Exhibition Road, on the East side of the building. It is a gallery themed around the changing history of the Earth. Earth's Treasury shows specimens of rocks, minerals and gemstones behind glass in a dimly lit gallery. Lasting Impressions is a small gallery containing specimens of rocks, plants and minerals, of which most can be touched. This zone
415-615: A catalogue of above 4000 species of the Classes Crustacea, Myriapoda, Spiders, Mites and insects intended as labels for cabinets of Insects, etc., alphabetically arranged . This work established new genera in other insect orders. Samouelle was a founding member of the Entomological Club in 1826, along with Abraham Davies, Samuel Henson and Edward Newman . Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London
498-586: A collector was to acquire in 1702 (by bequest, conditional on paying of certain debts) the cabinet of curiosities owned by William Courten , who had made collecting the business of his life. When Sloane retired in 1741, his library and cabinet of curiosities, which he took with him from Bloomsbury to his house in Chelsea, had grown to be of unique value. He had acquired the extensive natural history collections of William Courten, Cardinal Filippo Antonio Gualterio , James Petiver , Nehemiah Grew , Leonard Plukenet ,
581-619: A department of the British Museum with the formal name British Museum (Natural History) , usually abbreviated in the scientific literature as B.M.(N.H.) . A petition to the Chancellor of the Exchequer was made in 1866, signed by the heads of the Royal , Linnean and Zoological societies as well as naturalists including Darwin , Wallace and Huxley , asking that the museum gain independence from
664-429: A fee by booking onto one of the several Spirit Collection Tours offered daily. On arrival at the museum, the specimen was immediately frozen while preparations commenced for its permanent storage. Since few complete and reasonably fresh examples of the species exist, "wet storage" was chosen, leaving the squid undissected. A 9.45-metre acrylic tank was constructed (by the same team that provide tanks to Damien Hirst ), and
747-400: A giant gastropod shell , then a coprolite , and now a concretion of a worm's tunnel), has been part of the collection since its discovery in 1921. The museum keeps a wildlife garden on its west lawn, on which a potentially new species of insect resembling Arocatus roeselii was discovered in 2007. The museum is divided into four sets of galleries, or zones, each colour coded to follow
830-788: A highly praised "How Science Works" hands on workshop for school students demonstrating the use of microfossils in geological research. The museum also played a major role in securing designation of the Jurassic Coast of Devon and Dorset as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has subsequently been a lead partner in the Lyme Regis Fossil Festivals. In 2005, the museum launched a project to develop notable gallery characters to patrol display cases, including 'facsimiles' of Carl Linnaeus , Mary Anning , Dorothea Bate and William Smith . They tell stories and anecdotes of their lives and discoveries and aim to surprise visitors. In 2010,
913-466: A nephew of the mistress of a Trustee was appointed Entomological Assistant despite not knowing the difference between a butterfly and a moth. J. E. Gray (Keeper of Zoology 1840–1874) complained of the incidence of mental illness amongst staff: George Shaw threatened to put his foot on any shell not in the 12th edition of Linnaeus ' Systema Naturae ; another had removed all the labels and registration numbers from entomological cases arranged by
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#1732883386264996-508: A physician and his London property investments, coupled with Elizabeth's inheritance, enabled Sloane to build his substantial collection of natural history artefacts in the following decades. Sloane additionally had investments in the Royal African and South Sea Companies , both of which traded in slaves. The Natural History Museum lists Sloane as the inventor of drinking chocolate with milk. However, according to historian James Delbourgo ,
1079-415: A rival. The huge collection of the conchologist Hugh Cuming was acquired by the museum, and Gray's own wife had carried the open trays across the courtyard in a gale: all the labels blew away. That collection is said never to have recovered. The Principal Librarian at the time was Antonio Panizzi ; his contempt for the natural history departments and for science in general was total. The general public
1162-604: A six-part BBC documentary series was filmed at the museum entitled Museum of Life exploring the history and behind the scenes aspects of the museum. Since May 2001, the Natural History Museum admission has been free for some events and permanent exhibitions. However, there are certain temporary exhibits and shows that require a fee. The Natural History museum combines the museum's life and earth science collections with specialist expertise in "taxonomy, systematics, biodiversity, natural resources, planetary science, evolution and informatics" to tackle scientific questions. In 2011,
1245-591: A tour of various British museums starting in 2018 and concluding in 2020 at Norwich Cathedral . The blue whale skeleton, Hope, that has replaced Dippy, is another prominent display in the museum. The display of the skeleton, some 82 feet (25 m) long and weighing 4.5 tonnes, was only made possible in 1934 with the building of the New Whale Hall (now the Mammals (blue whale model) gallery ). The whale had been in storage for 42 years since its stranding on sandbanks at
1328-404: Is a centre of research specialising in taxonomy , identification and conservation. Given the age of the institution, many of the collections have great historical as well as scientific value, such as specimens collected by Charles Darwin . The museum is particularly famous for its exhibition of dinosaur skeletons and ornate architecture—sometimes dubbed a cathedral of nature —both exemplified by
1411-688: Is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history . It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington , the others being the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum . The Natural History Museum's main frontage, however, is on Cromwell Road . The museum is home to life and earth science specimens comprising some 80 million items within five main collections: botany , entomology , mineralogy , palaeontology and zoology . The museum
1494-583: Is a patron of the museum. There are approximately 850 staff at the museum. The two largest strategic groups are the Public Engagement Group and Science Group. The foundation of the collection was that of the Ulster doctor Sir Hans Sloane (1660–1753), who allowed his significant collections to be purchased by the British Government at a price well below their market value at the time. This purchase
1577-553: Is accessed from the Cromwell Road entrance via the Hintze Hall and follows the theme of the evolution of the planet. To the left of the Hintze Hall, this zone explores the diversity of life on the planet. Enables the public to see science at work and also provides spaces for relaxation and contemplation. Accessible from Queens Gate. The museum runs a series of educational and public engagement programmes. These include for example
1660-602: Is credited with the invention of chocolate milk , it is more likely that he learned the practice of adding milk to drinking chocolate while living and working in Jamaica. Streets and places were later named after him, including Hans Place , Hans Crescent, and Sloane Square in and around Chelsea, London —the area of his final residence—and also Sir Hans Sloane Square in Killyleagh , his birthplace in Ulster . Sloane's London estate
1743-517: Is possible for members of the public to visit and view non-exhibited items for a fee by booking onto one of the several Spirit Collection Tours offered daily. Arguably the most famous creature in the centre is the 8.62-metre-long giant squid , affectionately named Archie. As part of the museum's remit to communicate science education and conservation work, a new multimedia studio forms an important part of Darwin Centre Phase 2. In collaboration with
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#17328833862641826-489: Is stolen from the museum, and a group of intrepid nannies hide inside the mouth of the museum's blue whale model (in fact a specially created prop – the nannies peer out from behind the whale's teeth, but a blue whale is a baleen whale and has no teeth). Additionally, the film is set in the 1920s, before the blue whale model was built. The museum features as a base for Prodigium, a secret society which studies and fights monsters, first appearing on The Mummy . In
1909-685: The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society , in which Sloane described Jamaican plants such as the Pepper Tree and the coffee-shrub, alongside accounts of the earthquakes that struck Lima in 1687 and Jamaica in 1687/1688 and 1692. In Sloane's work, Natural History of Jamaica , he describes for the Queen of England the Black ethnomusic of Jamaica . With the help of a local musician, he included
1992-523: The BBC's Natural History Unit (holder of the largest archive of natural history footage) the Attenborough Studio—named after the broadcaster Sir David Attenborough —provides a multimedia environment for educational events. The studio holds regular lectures and demonstrations, including free Nature Live talks on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. One of the most famous and certainly most prominent of
2075-548: The Duchess of Beaufort , Adam Buddle , Paul Hermann , Franz Kiggelaer and Herman Boerhaave . In his final year, Sir Hans Sloane suffered from a disorder with some paralysis. He died on the afternoon of 11 January 1753 at the Manor House , Chelsea, and was buried on 18 January in the south-east corner of the churchyard at Chelsea Old Church with a memorial inscribed as follows: To the memory of SIR HANS SLOANE BAR President of
2158-648: The Geological Museum . The Darwin Centre is a more recent addition, partly designed as a modern facility for storing the valuable collections. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United Kingdom, the Natural History Museum does not charge an admission fee. The museum is an exempt charity and a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport . The Princess of Wales
2241-527: The Plantation of Ulster (or, more correctly, during the Plantation of Antrim and Down), noted that "the fact that Sloane came from a Scots-Irish family who benefited from a different kind of plantation , following the expulsion of natives and the confiscation of their land, [which seemed] never to have been an issue". Sloane Square , Sloane Street , Sloane Avenue , Sloane Grammar School and Sloane Gardens in
2324-465: The "foremost toyman of his time". Sir Isaac Newton described Sloane as "a villain and rascal" and "a very tricking fellow". Some believed that his true achievement was in making friends in high society and with important political figures, rather than in science. Even as a physician, he did not get a great deal of respect from many, being seen as primarily a seller of medications and a collector of curios. Sloane's only medical publication, an Account of
2407-532: The 2014 film Paddington , Millicent Clyde is a devious and treacherous taxidermist at the museum. She kidnaps Paddington, intending to kill and stuff him, but is thwarted by the Brown family after scenes involving chases inside and on the roof of the building. The museum was prominently featured in the Sky One 2014 documentary David Attenborough's Natural History Museum Alive where several extinct creatures exhibited at
2490-559: The Jamaicans were brewing "a hot beverage brewed from shavings of freshly harvested cacao, boiled with milk and cinnamon" as far back as 1494. Sloane encountered the cocoa bean while he was in Jamaica, where the local people drank it mixed with water, though he is reported to have found it nauseating. Many recipes for mixing chocolate with spice, eggs, sugar and milk were in circulation by the seventeenth century. Sloane may have devised his own recipe for mixing chocolate with milk, though if so, he
2573-594: The Natural History Museum an institution for everyone, Owen transformed our expectations of what museums are for". Owen saw that the natural history departments needed more space, and that implied a separate building as the British Museum site was limited. Land in South Kensington was purchased, and in 1864 a competition was held to design the new museum. The winning entry was submitted by the civil engineer Captain Francis Fowke , who died shortly afterwards. The scheme
George Samouelle - Misplaced Pages Continue
2656-579: The Natural History Museum and stopped using the title British Museum (Natural History) on its advertising and its books for general readers. Only with the Museums and Galleries Act 1992 did the museum's formal title finally change to the Natural History Museum . In 1985, the museum merged with the adjacent Geological Museum of the British Geological Survey , which had long competed for
2739-505: The Royal College of Physicians' dispensary of inexpensive medications and operated a free surgery every morning. He was a founding governor of London's Foundling Hospital , the nation's first institution to care for abandoned children. Inoculation was required for all children in its care; Sloane was one of the physicians of that era who promoted inoculation as a method to prevent smallpox , using it on his own family and promoting it to
2822-582: The Royal Society, a period which included his revitalising editorship of the Philosophical Transactions , permitted Sloane little time for progressing his own scientific research, which led to the criticism of Sloane as a mere "virtuoso". Aside from his service as Royal Physician, Sloane's true achievement during his time at the Royal Society was in acting as a conduit between the worlds of science, politics and high society. Sloane's time in France at
2905-560: The Royal Society, and of the College of Physicians; who in the year of our Lord 1753, the 92 of his age, without the least pain of body and with a conscious serenity of mind, ended a virtuous and beneficent life. This monument was erected by his two daughters ELIZA CADOGAN and SARAH STANLEY His grave is shared with his wife Elisabeth, who died on 17 September 1724. On his death he bequeathed his books, manuscripts, prints, drawings, flora, fauna, medals, coins, seals, cameos and other curiosities to
2988-480: The Waterhouse building retitled The Life Galleries . The Natural History Museum's own mineralogy displays remain largely unchanged as an example of the 19th-century display techniques of the Waterhouse building. The central atrium design by Neal Potter overcame visitors' reluctance to visit the upper galleries by "pulling" them through a model of the Earth made up of random plates on an escalator. The new design covered
3071-703: The age of eighty-five, and after having retired from medical practice, Sloane published his first medical work, Account of a Medicine for Soreness, Weakness and other Distempers of the Eyes (London, 1745). During his life, Sloane was a correspondent of the French Académie Royale des Sciences and was named foreign associate in 1709, in addition to being a foreign member of the academies of science in Prussia, Saint Petersburg, Madrid and Göttingen. Sloane helped out at Christ's Hospital from 1694 to 1730 and donated his salary back to that institution. He also supported
3154-558: The beginning of his career later enabled him to fulfil the role of intermediary between British and French scientists, fostering the sharing of knowledge between the two countries at the height of the Age of Enlightenment . Notables from that period who visited Sloane to view his collection include the Swiss anatomist Albrecht von Haller , Voltaire , Benjamin Franklin and Carl Linnaeus . In 1745, at
3237-530: The board of the British Museum, and heated discussions on the matter continued for nearly one hundred years. Finally, with the passing of the British Museum Act 1963 , the British Museum (Natural History) became an independent museum with its own board of trustees, although – despite a proposed amendment to the act in the House of Lords – the former name was retained. In 1989 the museum publicly re-branded itself as
3320-485: The body preserved using a mixture of formalin and saline solution . The museum holds the remains and bones of the " River Thames whale ", a northern bottlenose whale that lost its way on 20 January 2006 and swam into the Thames. Although primarily used for research purposes, and held at the museum's storage site at Wandsworth . Dinocochlea , one of the longer-standing mysteries of paleontology (originally thought to be
3403-710: The casting, copying the original held at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History . The pieces were sent to London in 36 crates, and on 12 May 1905, the exhibit was unveiled to great public and media interest. The real fossil had yet to be mounted, as the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh was still being constructed to house it. As word of Dippy spread, Mr Carnegie paid to have additional copies made for display in most major European capitals and in Central and South America, making Dippy
George Samouelle - Misplaced Pages Continue
3486-512: The day before Hope was unveiled for public display. The Darwin Centre is host to Archie , an 8.62-metre-long giant squid taken alive in a fishing net near the Falkland Islands in 2004. The squid is not on general display, but stored in the large tank room in the basement of the Phase 1 building. It is possible for members of the public to visit and view non-exhibited items behind the scenes for
3569-465: The exhibits—nicknamed " Dippy "—is a 105-foot (32 m)-long replica of a Diplodocus carnegii skeleton which was on display for many years within the central hall. The cast was given as a gift by the Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie , after a discussion with King Edward VII , then a keen trustee of the British Museum. Carnegie paid £2,000 (equivalent to £272,185 in 2023) for
3652-400: The foot") was the norm. And as for negligence, slaves "are usually whipt ... after they are whipt until they are raw, some put on their skins pepper and salt to make them smart; at other times their masters will drip melted wax on their skins, and use very exquisite torments." Sloane started his own practice in 1689 at 3 Bloomsbury Place, London, Sloane worked among the upper classes where he
3735-452: The foundation for the Natural History Museum . When Sloane wrote his will not only did he say he wanted to sell his work to the Parliament for 20,000 pounds, he also stated that he wanted his work to be seen by anyone who wanted to see it. The Curators thought that only scholars and the upper class were allowed to see the collection. They weren't comfortable with the idea that the lower class
3818-581: The foundation of the British Museum , the British Library , and the Natural History Museum, London . Elected to the Royal Society at the age of 24, Sloane travelled to the Caribbean in 1687 and documented his travels and findings with extensive publications years later. Sloane was a renowned medical doctor among the aristocracy, and was elected to the Royal College of Physicians at age 27. Though he
3901-636: The grounds of the museum. His successors also applied to the trustees for permission to destroy decayed specimens. In 1833, the Annual Report states that, of the 5,500 insects listed in the Sloane catalogue, none remained. The inability of the natural history departments to conserve its specimens became notorious: the Treasury refused to entrust it with specimens collected at the government's expense. Appointments of staff were bedevilled by gentlemanly favouritism; in 1862
3984-415: The large Diplodocus cast that dominated the vaulted central hall before it was replaced in 2017 with the skeleton of a blue whale hanging from the ceiling . The Natural History Museum Library contains an extensive collection of books, journals, manuscripts, and artwork linked to the work and research of the scientific departments; access to the library is by appointment only. The museum is recognised as
4067-399: The limited space available in the area. The Geological Museum became world-famous for exhibitions including an active volcano model and an earthquake machine (designed by James Gardner), and housed the world's first computer-enhanced exhibition ( Treasures of the Earth ). The museum's galleries were completely rebuilt and relaunched in 1996 as The Earth Galleries , with the other exhibitions in
4150-448: The most-viewed dinosaur skeleton in the world. The dinosaur quickly became an iconic representation of the museum, and has featured in many cartoons and other media, including the 1975 Disney comedy One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing . After 112 years on display at the museum, the dinosaur replica was removed in early 2017 to be replaced by the actual skeleton of a young blue whale , a 128-year-old skeleton nicknamed " Hope ". Dippy went on
4233-622: The mouth of Wexford Harbour , Ireland in March 1891 after being injured by whalers. At this time, it was first displayed in the Mammals (blue whale model) gallery, but now takes pride of place in the museum's Hintze Hall. Discussion of the idea of a life-sized model also began around 1934, and work was undertaken within the Whale Hall itself. Since taking a cast of such a large animal was deemed prohibitively expensive, scale models were used to meticulously piece
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#17328833862644316-463: The museum including Dippy the Diplodocus were brought to life using CGI . The museum features prominently in the level Lud's Gate from Tomb Raider III , with Core Design launching the game with Jonathan Ross at the museum on 15 October 1998. Andy Day 's CBeebies shows, Andy's Dinosaur Adventures and Andy's Prehistoric Adventures are filmed in the Natural History Museum. The museum
4399-468: The museum is free, though there are donation boxes in the foyer. Museum Lane immediately to the north provides disabled access to the museum. A connecting bridge between the Natural History and Science museums closed to the public in the late 1990s. The museum plays an important role in the 1975 London-based Disney live-action feature One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing ; the eponymous skeleton
4482-409: The museum led the setting up of an International Union for Conservation of Nature Bumblebee Specialist Group, chaired by Dr. Paul H. Williams, to assess the threat status of bumblebee species worldwide using Red List criteria. The closest London Underground station is South Kensington — there is a tunnel from the station that emerges close to the entrances of all three museums. Admission to
4565-477: The museum, Samouelle took over his position, but he "seemed incapable of independent work". Twenty years later, in 1840, after neglecting his work, drinking, insulting his superiors, and on one occasion, removing the labels from Adam White's specimens, Samouelle was sacked. He died less than five years later. Samouelle was primarily interested in Lepidoptera but also wrote A nomenclature of British Entomology, or
4648-579: The musical score and words of festival songs. Sloane married Elizabeth Langley Rose, the widow of Fulke Rose of Jamaica, and daughter of Alderman John Langley , a wealthy heiress of sugar plantations in Jamaica worked by slaves. The couple had three daughters, Mary, Sarah and Elizabeth, and one son, Hans; only Sarah and Elizabeth survived infancy. Sarah married George Stanley of Paultons and Elizabeth married Charles Cadogan, who became 2nd Baron Cadogan . Once back in Britain, income from Sloane's career as
4731-416: The nation, on condition that Parliament should pay his executors £20,000, far less than the value of the collection, estimated at £80,000 or greater by some sources and at over £50,000 by others. The bequest was accepted on those terms by an act passed the same year, and the collection, together with George II's royal library, and other objects. A significant proportion of this collection was later to become
4814-751: The new Governor of Jamaica , the 2nd Duke of Albemarle . Albemarle died in Jamaica the next year, 1688, so Sloane's visit lasted only fifteen months. During his time in the Caribbean, Sloane visited several islands and collected more than 1,000 plant specimens as well as large supplies of cacao and Peruvian bark from which he later extracted quinine to treat eye ailments. Sloane noted about 800 new species of plants, which he catalogued in Latin in his Catalogus Plantarum Quae in Insula Jamaica Sponte Proveniunt (Catalogue of Jamaican Plants), published in 1696. His first writings about his trip appeared in
4897-557: The nineteenth century, the Cadbury Brothers sold tins of drinking chocolate whose trade cards also invoked Sloane's recipe. In 1707 Sloane listed the variety of punishments inflicted on slaves in Jamaica. For rebellion, slaves were usually punished "by nailing them down to the ground ... and then applying the fire by degrees from the feet and hands, burning them gradually up to the head, whereby their pains are extravagant." For lesser crimes, castration or mutilation ("chopping off half
4980-440: The pre-eminent centre of natural history and research of related fields in the world. Although commonly referred to as the Natural History Museum, it was officially known as British Museum (Natural History) until 1992, despite legal separation from the British Museum itself in 1963. Originating from collections within the British Museum, the landmark Alfred Waterhouse building was built and opened by 1881 and later incorporated
5063-519: The public in 2002, and it houses the zoological department's 'spirit collections'—organisms preserved in alcohol . Phase Two was unveiled in September 2008 and opened to the general public in September 2009. It was designed by the Danish architecture practice C. F. Møller Architects in the shape of a giant, eight-story cocoon and houses the entomology and botanical collections—the 'dry collections'. It
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#17328833862645146-473: The royal family. He had been introduced to the concept of inoculation by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu in the court of Queen Caroline . Sloane's purchase of the manor of Chelsea, London, in 1712, provided the grounds for the Chelsea Physic Garden . Over his lifetime, Sloane collected over 71,000 objects: books, manuscripts, drawings, coins and medals, plant specimens and others. His great stroke as
5229-754: The south-west of Scotland ; they settled in east Ulster during the Plantation of Antrim and Down , which was slightly separate from the wider Plantation of Ulster , under King James VI and I . The Sloane children, including Hans, were taken up by the Hamilton family and had much of their early tuition conducted within the Killyleagh Castle library. Out of Alexander's sons, only three reached adulthood: Hans, William, and James. The graveyards of Henry and John Sloane can be found in Killyleagh's parish courtyard; both brothers died in their childhood. The eldest brother James
5312-418: The structure together. During construction, workmen left a trapdoor within the whale's stomach, which they would use for surreptitious cigarette breaks. Before the door was closed and sealed forever, some coins and a telephone directory were placed inside—this soon growing to an urban myth that a time capsule was left inside. The work was completed—entirely within the hall and in view of the public—in 1938. At
5395-466: The study of medicine, which he did in London, where he studied botany, materia medica , surgery and pharmacy. His collecting habits made him useful to John Ray and Robert Boyle . After four years in London he travelled through France, spending some time at Paris and Montpellier , and stayed long enough at the University of Orange-Nassau to take his MD degree there in 1683; he was hired as an assistant to prominent physician Thomas Sydenham who gave
5478-423: The time it was the largest such model in the world, at 92 feet (28 m) in length. The construction details were later borrowed by several American museums, who scaled the plans further. The work involved in removing Dippy and replacing it with Hope was documented in a BBC Television special, Horizon : Dippy and the Whale , narrated by David Attenborough , which was first broadcast on BBC Two on 13 July 2017,
5561-413: The town in which he was born. In August 2020, a bust of Sloane in the British Museum's Enlightenment Gallery was moved by the museum. The decision came as part of that year's wave of removals of monuments to those who had benefited from slavery . History Ireland contributor Tony Canavan, writing of the decision and observing the fact that the Sloane family had moved to Ireland from Scotland during
5644-412: The walls in recycled slate and sandblasted the major stars and planets onto the wall. The museum's 'star' geological exhibits are displayed within the walls. Six iconic figures were the backdrop to discussing how previous generations have viewed Earth. These were later removed to make place for a Stegosaurus skeleton that was put on display in late 2015. The Darwin Centre (named after Charles Darwin )
5727-435: The west and east wings respectively. This explicit separation was at the request of Owen, and has been seen as a statement of his contemporary rebuttal of Darwin's attempt to link present species with past through the theory of natural selection . Though Waterhouse slipped in a few anomalies, such as bats amongst the extinct animals and a fossil ammonite with the living species. The sculptures were produced from clay models by
5810-425: The young man valuable introductions to practice. He returned to London with a considerable collection of plants and other curiosities, of which the former were sent to Ray and utilised by him for his History of Plants . Sloane was elected to the Royal Society in 1685. In 1687, he became a fellow of the College of Physicians, and the same year went to Jamaica aboard HMS Assistance as personal physician to
5893-426: Was able to come to the museum and look at the collection because they didn't think that lower class citizens were worthy. The Curators believed that learning was a privilege that only the upper class had. He also gave the Society of Apothecaries the land of the Chelsea Physic Garden which they had rented from the Chelsea estate since 1673. A life-size statue of Sloane was erected in the town square of Killyleagh ,
5976-515: Was appointed physician-general to the army, and in 1727 first physician to George II. He was elected president of Royal College of Physicians in 1719 and served in that role until 1735. He became secretary to the Royal Society in 1693, and edited its Philosophical Transactions for twenty years. In 1727 he succeeded Sir Isaac Newton as president. He retired from the Society at the age of eighty. Sloane's role as First Secretary and later President of
6059-526: Was bequeathed to his daughter, Elizabeth, who was married to Charles Cadogan, 2nd Baron Cadogan , in which family the estate remains. Sloane was born into an Anglo-Irish family on 16 April 1660 at Killyleagh , a village on the south-western shores of Strangford Lough in County Down in Ulster , the northern province in Ireland . Hans Sloane was the seventh and last child of Alexander Sloane who died when Hans
6142-552: Was completed in 1880. The new museum opened on 18 April 1881, although the move from the old museum was not fully completed until 1883. Both the interiors and exteriors of the Waterhouse building make extensive use of architectural terracotta tiles to resist the sooty atmosphere of Victorian London, manufactured by the Tamworth-based company of Gibbs and Canning . The tiles and bricks feature many relief sculptures of flora and fauna, with living and extinct species featured within
6225-470: Was designed as a new home for the museum's collection of tens of millions of preserved specimens, as well as new work spaces for the museum's scientific staff and new educational visitor experiences. Built in two distinct phases, with two new buildings adjacent to the main Waterhouse building, it is the most significant new development project in the museum's history. Phase one of the Darwin Centre opened to
6308-542: Was elected a Member of Parliament for Roscommon and Killyleagh in 1692. John Sloane later became an MP of Thetford and a barrister of the Inner Temple , spending most of his time in London. Like many other Scots ' Planters ' in Ulster during the seventeenth-century, the Sloane name was almost certainly of Gaelic origin, Sloane probably being an anglicisation of Ó Sluagháin . As a youth, Sloane collected objects of natural history and other curiosities. This led him to
6391-520: Was funded by a lottery. Sloane's collection, which included dried plants, and animal and human skeletons, was initially housed in Montagu House, Bloomsbury , in 1756, which was the home of the British Museum . Most of the Sloane collection had disappeared by the early decades of the nineteenth century. Dr George Shaw (Keeper of Natural History 1806–1813) sold many specimens to the Royal College of Surgeons and had periodic cremations of material in
6474-507: Was not encouraged to visit the museum's natural history exhibits. In 1835 to a Select Committee of Parliament, Sir Henry Ellis said this policy was fully approved by the Principal Librarian and his senior colleagues. Many of these faults were corrected by the palaeontologist Richard Owen , appointed Superintendent of the natural history departments of the British Museum in 1856. His changes led Bill Bryson to write that "by making
6557-414: Was probably not the first. (Some sources credit Daniel Peter as the inventor in 1875, using condensed milk; other sources point out that milk was added to chocolate centuries earlier in some countries. ) By the 1750s, a Soho grocer named Nicholas Sanders claimed to be selling Sloane's recipe as a medicinal elixir, perhaps making "Sir Hans Sloane's Milk Chocolate" the first brand-name milk chocolate drink. By
6640-515: Was site of the first Pit Stop on The Amazing Race 33 . The Museum is featured in the fifth episode of the Apple TV+ period drama The Essex Serpent . Hans Sloane Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet , FRS (16 April 1660 – 11 January 1753), was an Anglo-Irish physician, naturalist, and collector. He had a collection of 71,000 items which he bequeathed to the British nation, thus providing
6723-461: Was six years old. Alexander Sloane was a collector general of taxes for County Down and was an agent for the 1st Earl of Clanbrassil (of the first creation; c. 1618–1659), and was a brother to James Sloane, MP (1655–1704). It is said that Sarah Hicks (Hans's mother) was an English woman who moved to Killyleagh as Anne Carey's companion when Anne married Lord Clanbrassil. Sloane's paternal family were Ulster-Scots , having migrated from Ayrshire in
6806-566: Was taken over by Alfred Waterhouse who substantially revised the agreed plans, and designed the façades in his own idiosyncratic Romanesque style which was inspired by his frequent visits to the Continent. The original plans included wings on either side of the main building, but these plans were soon abandoned for budgetary reasons. The space these would have occupied are now taken by the Earth Galleries and Darwin Centre. Work began in 1873 and
6889-436: Was viewed as fashionable; he built a large practice which became lucrative. The physician served three successive sovereigns: Queen Anne , George I , and George II . There was some criticism of Sloane during his lifetime as a mere "virtuoso", an undiscriminating collector who lacked understanding of scientific principles. One critic stated that he was merely interested in the collection of knick-knacks, and another called him
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