Anna Blackburne (1726–1793) was an English botanist and collector. She was born at Orford Hall in Lancashire into a family of landowners and after her mother's death she remained there with her father, John Blackburne, who had hothouses for exotic plants and an extensive library. Blackburne taught herself Latin so she could read the Systema Naturae of Carl Linnaeus, and created a natural history museum where she collected insects, shells, minerals and birds. She knew the naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster, who instructed her in entomology, and corresponded with other naturalists including Linnaeus. Her brother Ashton, who lived in New York, sent her specimens of North American birds, which were described by the naturalist Thomas Pennant in his Arctic Zoology. After her father's death, Blackburne and her museum moved to nearby Fairfield Hall. After her death, her nephew John Blackburne inherited her collection. Several species are named for her, including the Blackburnian warbler.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Blackburne> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1842: A train derailed and caught fire near Versailles, France, killing at least 52 people. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versailles_rail_accident> 1927: French aviators Charles Nungesser and François Coli aboard the biplane L'Oiseau Blanc took off from Paris, attempting to make the first non-stop flight to New York, only to disappear before arrival. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Oiseau_Blanc> 1963: In Huế, South Vietnam, soldiers opened fire into a crowd of Buddhists protesting against a government ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag on Phật Đản, killing nine and sparking the Buddhist crisis. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hu%E1%BA%BF_Ph%E1%BA%ADt_%C4%90%E1%BA%A3n_shootings> 1972: Four members of Black September hijacked Sabena Flight 571 to demand the release of 315 Palestinians convicted on terrorism charges. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabena_Flight_571> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: whither: 1. Interrogative senses. 2. To what place; where. 3. (figurative, also humorous) To what (future) cause, condition or state, reason, etc.; where, where next; also (obsolete) to what extent; how far. 4. Relative senses. 5. To which place; also (after a noun denoting a place) to which. 6. To the place in or to which. 7. (generally) In or to any place to which; to whatever place; wherever. 8. (formal, archaic except literary or poetic) A place to which someone or something goes; also, a condition to which someone or something moves. [...] <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/whither> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: It used to be said, that in places like this, nature eventually failed to support man, the truth is exactly the reverse, here man failed to support nature. Ten thousand years ago man regarded the natural world as divine, but as he domesticated animals and plants so nature lost some of its mystery and appeared to be little more than a larder that could be raided with impunity. --David Attenborough <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Attenborough> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe write to: [email protected] Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
