Forbes Edward

Forbes, Edward (1815-1854), a naturalist and F.R.S., was born at Douglas in the Isle of Man. As a child he used to make collections in botany and the like. In 1831 he came to London with the idea of adopting painting as a profession, but soon abandoned it and entered as a student of medicine at Edinburgh. From 1833-35 he travelled in Norway, the Isle of Man, Wales, France, Germany, and Switzerland, making scientific researches, and in 1836 attended lectures at the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, and then went to Algiers to study molluscs. In 1838 he travelled in Styria and Carniola; and shortly afterwards lectured in Edinburgh on the natural history of the animals of the British seas. In 1841 he published a History of British Starfishes, and the same year he embarked on H.M.S. Beacon to explore the botany, zoology, and geology of the

Mediterranean. In 1851 he became Professor of Natural History at the Royal School of Mines in Jermyn Street, and in 1854 was made Professor of Natural History in Edinburgh University.