Margaret Gatty
Margaret Gatty, pseudonym Aunt Judy ( born June 3, 1809 in Burnham, Essex, † October 4, 1873 in Ecclesfield, Yorkshire ) was an English author and botanist. Your botanical author abbreviation is " Gatty ".
Childhood and youth
Margaret Gatty was the second daughter of the priest Alexander John Scott, ship chaplain on board the Victory, in the arms of Lord Nelson died at Trafalgar and Mary Frances Scott, born Ryder. Margaret grew up in the rectory of Burnham on Crouch, where her father held the office of parish priest and vicar of the neighboring parish of Southminster. When Margaret was two years old, her mother died. This meant that Margaret was occasionally accommodated by her father with relatives. In 1816 took place a family's move to Catterick. Life was there for Margaret not easy as they had to take over a large part of responsibility for family life due to frequent illness of the father and his studies.
Since her father had little confidence in the general school system, he decided to home school his daughters themselves. So it was that Margaret was able to develop tendencies that were not common for girls of that time. At the age of 10 years she became interested in printing, with which they henceforth employed in the British Museum. She learned the art to produce engravings and continued his education in the drawing. The father promoted in literature and foreign languages , so that Margaret could read classic works in several languages at an early stage. At 17, she has translated works of Dante. Despite the initial resistance of the father she married in 1839 the pastor Alfred Gatty in Ecclesfield in Sheffield.
Work
In 1840, her father died. Together with her husband she gave in 1842 released her first book, which had the biography of her father on the subject. Her first own book, The Fairy Godmothers, and Other Tales, she wrote at the age of 42 years. It contains a selection of different stories for children.
In 1855 she published her first volume of the series Parables from Nature, the linked child-oriented knowledge to nature with moral values. The publication was preceded by a long process careful naturalistic study of the literature and our own observations. Gattys interest for algae and zoophytes led in 1862 to the relocation of the book British Seaweeds, where her 14 - year employment is combined with this topic. Was accompanied the emergence of the work of Henry Harvey, author of the Phycologia Britannica. A year later, 1863, was followed by the band's History of British Seaweeds. Both books she illustrated itself in 1870 she gave out the fifth and final volume of the Parables from Nature. This series has received international recognition and has been translated into most European languages.
The positive response to published under a pseudonym Aunt Judy Books Aunt Judy 's Tales (1858 ), Aunt Judy's Letters ( 1862), Aunt Judy's Songbook for Children and The Mother 's Book of Poetry led to the publication of the youth magazine Aunt Judy 's Magazine. It was first laid in 1866. Thematic focus was on stories and articles of different writers of the 19th century. Even with his own texts contributed Gatty at. She managed over time a close relationship with their young readers to develop. The success of the journal is also attributed to the fact that Gatty was to look at events from the perspective of children in the location and could therefore communicate with them successfully.
Gatty gave birth to ten children, eight of whom reached adulthood. Like her father, she promoted in their children the development of scientific and artistic interests. Their second son, Juliana Horatia Ewing, also was a writer.
Appreciation
Margaret Gatty died on 4 October 1873. Her grave is in the cemetery of Ecclesfield close to her father. Has a framed in stained glass church window of Ecclesfield Church life of Margaret Gatty and her daughter Juliana to the topic. It was used in 1874 and named in allusion to the Parables from Nature commonly Parable Window series.
Ehrentaxa
Gatty named in honor of Henry Harvey a genus of algae with Gattya Harvey, 1855. George Johnston called after her Meereswurmart Gattia spectabilis.
Writings
(Selection)
- The fairy godmother, and other tales, fairy tale collection ( 1851)
- Parables from nature, 5 volumes, 1855-71
- Aunt Judy 's Tales (1858 )
- British Seaweeds (1862 )
- Aunt Judy's Letters ( 1862)
- History of British Seaweeds (1863 )
- Aunt Judy 's Magazine Monthly Magazine for Youth (since 1866)
- Together with Alfred Gattty: Life of Dr. Wolff, the missionary (1860 )
Swell
- Renate Strohmeyer: Encyclopedia of natural scientists and natural knowledgeable women of Europe, Verlag Harri German, p 113 ISBN 3-8171-1567-9
- Parables from Nature (PDF, 1.3 MB ) by Margaret S. Gatty, Yesterday's Classics
- Margaret Gatty at Essex Family History, accessed 21 April 2012
- Catharine MC Haines: International Women in Science: A Biographical Dictionary to 1950, ABC Clio 2001, p 111 ISBN 1-57607-090-5
- Gatty, Margaret (1809-1873) In: Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia, accessed 25 April 2012