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"Natural history" is an umbrella term for what are now usually viewed as a number of distinct scientific disciplines. Most definitions include the study of living things (e.g. biology, including botany and zoology); other definitions extend the topic to include paleontology, ecology or biochemistry, as well as parts of geology and physics and even meteorology. A person interested in natural history is known as a naturalist. This was predominantly an amateur activity and not an occupation. The rise of interest in natural history in Britain is linked with the tradition of herbalists and apothecarians. This grew into specialist hobbies such as the study of birds, butterflies and wildflowers. In the Eighteenth and well into the Nineteenth Century, Natural History as a term was frequently used to refer to all scientific studies, as opposed to political or ecclesiastical history. As such, the subject area would include all aspects of physics, astronomy, archeology, etc. This broad usage is still used for some institutions including museums and societies.
1 Natural History museums
The term "natural history" forms the descriptive part of institution names, such as the Natural History Museum in LondonLondon is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England, and with over seven million inhabitants in the Greater London area, is the second-most populous conurbation in Europe (after Moscow). From being Londinium the capital of the Roman province of Bri, the National Museum of Natural History (part of the Smithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is a museum complex with most of its facilities in Washington D. It consists of 16 museums, 7 research centers and 142 million items in its collections. A monthly magazine published by the Smithsonian Institution is also named) in Washington, D.C., the ClevelandThe city of Cleveland is the county seat of Cuyahoga County in the U. state of Ohio. As of the 2000 census, the city proper had a total population of 478,403, making it second in population in the state to Columbus, Ohio. Greater Cleveland, however, inclu Museum of Natural History, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, the Field Museum of Natural HistoryThe Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois, USA, sits on Lake Shore Drive next to Lake Michigan, part of a scenic complex called known as the Museum Campus which includes Soldier Field, the football stadium that is the home of the Chicago Be in ChicagoThis article is about the city, for other uses of the term see Chicago (disambiguation : Hog butcher for the world,Tool maker, stacker of wheat,Player with railroads and the nation's freight handler;Stormy, husky, brawling,City of the big shoulders. Carl, the Burke Museum of Natural History and CultureThe Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture is a museum in the northwest corner of the campus of the University of Washington, at the intersection of N. 45th Street and 15th Avenue N. in Seattle, Washington, USA's University District. It is the only m in Seattle, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, which also publishes a magazine called Natural History.
2 Natural History societies
The term "natural history" alone, or sometimes together with archaeology, forms the name of many national, regional and local natural history societies that maintain records for birds ( ornithology), mammals, insects ( entomology) and plants ( botany). They may also have microscopical and geological sections.
Examples of these societies in Britain include the British Entomological and Natural History Society founded in 1872, Birmingham Natural History Society, Glasgow Natural History Society, London Natural History Society, Manchester Microscopical and Natural History Society established in 1880 and the Sorby Natural History Society, Sheffield, founded in 1918. The growth of natural history societies was also spurred due to the growth of British colonies in tropical regions with numerous new species to be discovered. Many civil servants took an interest in their new surroundings, sending back specimens to museums back in Britain. (See also Indian Natural History)
