Philip Henry Gosse

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Returning to England in 1839, Gosse was hard pressed to make a living and subsisted on eightpence a day ("one herring eaten as slowly as possible, and a little bread"). His fortunes began to improve when John Van Voorst agreed, on the recommendation of Thomas Bell, to publish his *Canadian Naturalist* (1840). The book, set as a conversation between a father and his son (Gosse did not yet have a son), was widely praised. Gosse opened a "Classical and Commercial School for Young Gentlemen" while keeping detailed records of his microscopic investigations of pond life, especially cyclopidae and rotifera. He also began to preach to the Wesleyan Methodists and led a Bible class. In 1842, he became so captivated by the doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ that he severed his connection with the Methodists and joined Brethren. In October 1844, Gosse went on his own responsibility to Jamaica, where he collected natural history specimens for sale. Although Gosse worked hard during his eighteen months on the island, he later called the period his "'holiday' in Jamaica". Gosse's study covered virtually all aspects of Jamaican natural history, and he left a record as "the Father of Jamaican Ornithology", the "Father of Jamaican Herpetology" and the Father of "many other aspects of Jamaican biology". In the years following his return to London in 1846, Gosse published three works whose achievement remains unsurpassed: *Birds of Jamaica* (1847), *Illustrations of the Birds of Jamaica* (1849), and *A Naturalist's Sojourn in Jamaica* (1851). Back in England, Gosse courted Emily Bowes, a 41-year-old member of the Brethren, who was both a strong personality and a gifted writer of evangelical tracts. They married in November 1848, and their union was an extremely happy one. Gosse's only son was born on 21 September 1849. Gosse noted the event in his diary with the words: "E. delivered of a son. Received green swallow from Jamaica"—an amusing conjunction which Edmund later described as demonstrating only the order of events: the boy had arrived first. Gosse constructed and stocked the first marine aquarium and first public aquarium in the world in 1853 in London.

Reader's Guide

Philip Henry Gosse's significance lies in his dual contributions to natural science and religious life. As a naturalist, he pioneered marine biology by creating the first public marine aquarium at London Zoo in 1853 and coining the term "aquarium". His 1854 book *The Aquarium: An Unveiling of the Wonders of the Deep Sea* set off a mid-Victorian craze for household aquariums. The book was financially profitable for Gosse, and "the reviews were full of praise". Even in that work, Gosse used natural science to point to the necessity of salvation through the blood of Christ. In 1856 Gosse was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, which, because he had no university position or inherited wealth, gave him "a standing he otherwise lacked". Over thirty years later, Gosse co-authored a three-volume work on Rotifera, considered at the time "the most complete and exhaustive history of the Rotifera in any language", with drawings of "extreme minuteness, accuracy, and beauty". After his death in 1888, the popular image of Gosse was shaped by his son, Edmund W. Gosse, in his 1890 *Life of Philip Henry Gosse F.R.S.* and most notably in his 1907 memoir, *Father and Son*. In the latter work, among other things, Gosse was portrayed as an overbearing father of uncompromising religious views. Edmund Gosse mythologized the reception given to Gosse's *Omphalos* (1857), an attempt to reconcile the geological ages of uniformitarian geology with the biblical account of creation. After new research, most aspects of Edmund Gosse's characterization of his father's life and career in religion and science have been challenged by Douglas Wertheimer in *Philip Henry Gosse: A Biography* (2024) and elsewhere though the older view persists. There are three portraits of Gosse at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Did You Know?

• Gosse coined the term 'aquarium' and created the world's first public marine aquarium at London Zoo in 1853.
• His 1854 book *The Aquarium: An Unveiling of the Wonders of the Deep Sea* sparked the aquarium craze in mid-Victorian England.
• Gosse is known as the 'Father of Jamaican Ornithology' and the 'Father of Jamaican Herpetology' for his work during an 18-month stay on the island.
• Over thirty years after his aquarium work, Gosse co-authored a three-volume study of Rotifera considered 'the most complete and exhaustive history of the Rotifera in any language'.
• Three portraits of Gosse are held at the National Portrait Gallery, London.