William John Swainson Facts
William John Swainson Facts
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| Interesting William John Swainson Facts: |
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| Swainson was born in London, England, and was the oldest son of John Timothy Swainson. |
| The elder Swainson was an original member of the Linnean Society and held a high position in Customs. |
| In 1803 William Swainson joined the Liverpool Customs as a junior clerk. |
| In 1806 he accepted a junior post with the Commissary General. |
| From 1807 to 1814 he lived in Malta and Sicily with the army of occupation. |
| He spent much time studying the flora and fauna Sicily and Greece. |
| In 1815 he became ill and was forced to return to England where he retired and received a pension. |
| In 1816 he was elected member of the Linnean Society. |
| He joined an expedition to Brazil in 1816 and collected many specimens of plants and animals. |
| He became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1820 and began publication of his studies in natural history including Zoological Illustrations and Exotic Conchology. |
| He was a gifted artist and he spent fifteen years writing and illustrating his works in natural history. |
| From 1841 to 1852 he lived in New Zealand with his second wife and children. |
| The Australian government invited him to study the zoology of Australia. |
| He spent 1852 to 1854 studying the flora of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. |
| Swainson described 1,520 of gum trees and described the method of their variation. |
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