J
ohn Edward Gray was born in
Walsall, England, on 12 February
- At the age of 16, he began to
study medicine, however this pursuit
was later abandoned, due in part to a
revulsion to surgery. However, he
had previously assisted his father to
compile The Natural Arrangement of
British Plants, and had also collected
insects for the British Museum as on
a voluntary basis. In 1824 he was
officially engaged by J. G. Children,
the Keeper of the Zoological
Collection, to help catalogue reptiles.
Children himself appears to have
been the beneficiary of a politically-
motivated appointment, and would
heavily upon his younger assistant.
Gray succeeded Children upon his
retirement in 1840.
Gray was confronted by zoological
collections that were unorganised
and uninspiring, but he worked
tirelessly to ensure that eventually
the museum’s collections became
recognised as the best in the world.
He was a copious writer and was
calculated to produce 1,162 books,
papers and articles during his
career, including descriptions of a
huge number of new species.
During Gray’s fifty-year tenure the
museum was literally flooded with
an almost unlimited supply of new
specimens from around the globe.
Many of his descriptions were
(perhaps necessarily) somewhat
superficial, and numerous amend-
ments to scientific names were to
cause considerable confusion.However, the meticulous cataloguing
system he devised ensured that, to
this day, the vast majority of his type
specimens remain preserved in the
museum’s archives.This was also the Golden Age of
Australian exploration, and Gray was
personally responsible for describing
and naming many familiar Austra-
lian species, particularly reptiles and
mammals. He described the Thorny
Devil, the Frilled Lizard, the
Perentie, the Olive Python and the
Children’s Python (after his mentor)
to name but a few archetypal species,
and is credited with establishing the
genera Morelia, Liasis, Moloch,Historical Herpetology
The systematist: John Edward Gray.John Edward Gray.John Edward Gray. (^)
Another in our continuing series of articles about Australian pioneers.
‘Gray produced an ‘Gray produced an ‘Gray produced an
incredible incredible incredible 1,162 1,162 1,162
BOOKSBOOKSBOOKS, , , PAPERSPAPERSPAPERS ANDANDAND
ARTICLESARTICLESARTICLES during his during his during his
career.’career.’career.’
Lophognathus, Diplodactylus,
Oedura, Gehyra, Aprasia, Delma,
Carlia, Egernia, Morethia and
Teliqua amongst others!
John Gray can also lay claim to the
earliest book devoted entirely to
Australian reptiles. The Lizards of
Australia and New Zealand in the
Collection of the British Museum,
published in 1867, is often referred
to simply as ‘Gray’s lizards’ and
consisted of the examination of part
of a collection derived from an
expedition under the command of Sir
James Clark Ross.
Gray’s wife, Maria, was a celebrated
conchologist, and rendered him
considerable assistance, especially in
the form of drawings. He was also
ably supported by his colleague and
younger brother, George. John Gray
was a prominent member of many
scientific societies, and quite
possible the first known stamp
collector, since he is believed to have
preserved a number of Penny Blacks
purchased on their first day of issue
in 1840. He died in 1875.
John Gray; a portrait taken in
A later photograph; date
unknown.
Gray with his wife Maria in
Gray’s signature.
A beautiful plate from
‘Gray’s lizards’. Odatria ocellata
(Gray 1845) is immediately
recognisable today as Varanus
acanthurus.
1,2, 3 & 4. sourced from Creative Com-
mons.- licence: https://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/2.0/deed.en - licence: https://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/deed.en
1 & 2. These files come from Wellcome
Images, a website operated by Wellcome
Trust, a global charitable foundation
based in the United Kingdom.
3.4.5.