Catesby Mark

Catesby, Mark, born about 1680, became an ardent student of natural history, and in 1712 went to Virginia, where he made a fine collection. In 1719 he returned, and acquired the friendship of Sir Hans Sloane, who persuaded him to visit Carolina. He accordingly spent four years in that province, in Georgia, Florida, and the Bahamas, often amongst the native Indian tribes. He was a skilful artist, and in 1731 he began to publish his Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, the greatest work of the kind produced in England up to that date. He also wrote Hortus Britannus-Americanus, and died in London in 1749.