William John Burchell

Career Traveller / Natural Historian / Teacher

Biography Explorer and naturalist. Worked at Kew Gardens before going to St Helena and being appointed the island's schoolmaster and superintendent of the botanic garden. In 1810 he became the botanist to the Cape Colony. In 1811 he set off on a major expedition to Bechuanaland. When he returned to England in 1815 he brought back some 63,000 specimens. In 1825-8 he travelled in Brazil. He spent the rest of his life cataloguing his large collections [Alison Petch [as part of 'The Other Within' project 2006-9] 05/01/2007]

Biography References http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/3954 / http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/zoocolls/burchell/burchome.htm / http://www.museums.org.za/bio/people/burchell-wj.htm / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Burchell

Clubs & Societies Linnean Society / British Association for the Advancement of Science / Zoological Society

County London [Greater]

Relationship Other Owner

Archaeological or Ethnographic Ethnography

Dates active 1781-1863

Donated around 1886

Owned ?1865

English collections Thermometer used during travels

Oxford Uni Education No Honorary DCL

Oxford based No

Portrait link http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/3954

English collection size 1

Connections Anna Burchell / Ashmolean Museum