Natural history is the systematic study or scientific research of any category of natural objects or organisms, although in modern usage it more often refers to matters relating to biology (the study of living organisms such as plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, etc. Cyclopaedia or A Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences ( folio, 2 vols Scientific method refers to bodies of Techniques for investigating phenomena Foundations of modern biology There are five unifying principles Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. A fungus (ˈfʌŋgəs is a eukaryotic Organism that is a member of the kingdom Fungi (ˈfʌndʒaɪ The Bacteria ( singular: bacterium) are a large group of unicellular Microorganisms Typically a few Micrometres in length bacteria have and their relationships in natural systems ("ecosystems") as opposed to its former designation as the study of ALL things in the natural world, such as rocks and minerals (geology), atoms and molecules (chemistry) and even the universe at large (astronomy), (physics), (astrophysics), etc. An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants animals and micro-organisms( Biotic factors in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical ( Geology (from Greek γη gê, "earth" and λόγος Logos, "speech" lit Chemistry (from Egyptian kēme (chem meaning "earth") is the Science concerned with the composition structure and properties Astronomy (from the Greek words astron (ἄστρον "star" and nomos (νόμος "law" is the scientific study Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. Astrophysics is the branch of Astronomy that deals with the Physics of the Universe, including the physical properties ( Luminosity, ) It is sometimes considered an archaic term in the scientific community, and in its modern form usually leans toward the observational rather than the experimental, and encompasses more research that is published in magazines than in academic journals. Observation is either an activity of a living being (such as a Human) which senses and assimilates the Knowledge of a Phenomenon, or the recording of data In scientific inquiry an experiment ( Latin: Ex- periri, "to try out" is a method of investigating particular types of research questions or Magazines, periodicals or serials are Publications generally published on a regular schedule containing a variety of articles, generally An academic journal is a peer-reviewed Periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular Academic discipline is published ^[1] Natural history involves the research and formation of statements that make elements of life and the world of living beings comprehensible by describing the relevant structures, operations, relationships (in natural or "eco"systems, as well as the biosphere as a whole (i. Research is defined as Human activity based on Intellectual application in the investigation of Matter. Life is a state that distinguishes Organisms from non-living objects such as non-life and dead organisms being manifested by growth through Metabolism Structure is a fundamental and sometimes Intangible notion covering the Recognition, Observation, nature, and Stability of The biosphere is the broadest level of ecological study the global sum of all Ecosystems. e. the sum total of life on our planet))and circumstances of various species, such as diet, reproduction, and social grouping. Reproduction is the Biological process by which new individual Organisms are produced In Sociology, a group can be defined as two or more Humans that interact with one another accept expectations and obligations as members of the group and share a ^[2] The term has grown to be an umbrella term for what are now often viewed as several distinct scientific disciplines of integrative organismal biology. An umbrella term is a word that provides a Superset or grouping of related concepts also called a Hypernym. An academic discipline or field of study is a branch of Knowledge which is taught or Researched at the college or university level 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 climatology. Foundations of modern biology There are five unifying principles Botany, plant science(s, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of Biology and is the scientific study of plant Life Zoology (from Greek ζῷον, zoon, "animal" + λόγος, " Logos " "knowledge" is the branch of Palaeontology redirects here For the Scientific journal, see Palaeontology (journal. Ecology (from Greek grc οἶκος oikos, "house(hold" and grc -λογία -logia) is the scientific study of Biochemistry is the study of the chemical processes in living Organisms It deals with the Structure and function of cellular components such as Geology (from Greek γη gê, "earth" and λόγος Logos, "speech" lit Climatology (from Greek grc κλίμα klima, "region zone" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study of Climate, scientifically

Natural history is the scientific study of plants and animals in their natural environments. It is concerned with levels of organization from the individual organism to the ecosystem, and stresses identification, life history, distribution, abundance, and inter-relationships. It often and appropriately includes an esthetic component.

—Stephen G. Herman, 2002

It has historically been an often somewhat haphazard or less strictly organized study, description, and classification of natural objects, such as animals, plants, minerals, and placed an importance and significance on fieldwork as opposed to the more systematic scientific investigation such as experimental or lab work. History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Nature, in the broadest sense is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, material world or material universe. For other uses of Object see Object. In Philosophy, an object is a thing an Entity, or a Being. A mineral is a naturally occurring substance formed through geological processes that has a characteristic chemical composition a highly ordered atomic structure and specific This article is about the scientific method For the military term see Field fortifications under Fortification. A laboratory (informally lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific Research, Experiments and ^[3] A person interested in natural history is known as a naturalist or natural historian. Natural History is not now commonly applied to the fields of astronomy, physics, or chemistry. Astronomy (from the Greek words astron (ἄστρον "star" and nomos (νόμος "law" is the scientific study Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. Chemistry (from Egyptian kēme (chem meaning "earth") is the Science concerned with the composition structure and properties ^[3], as briefly discussed above. However, it sometimes even includes the disciplines of anthropology and archaeology. Anthropology (/ˌænθɹəˈpɒlədʒi/ from Greek grc ἄνθρωπος anthrōpos, "human" -λογία -logia) is the study of Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos

Contents 1 History of natural history 2 Natural history museums 3 Natural history and naturalist societies 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

History of natural history

The roots of natural history go back to Aristotle and other ancient philosophers who analyzed the diversity of the natural world. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. From the ancient Greeks until the work of Carolus Linnaeus and other 18th century naturalists, the central concept tying together the various domains of natural history was the scala naturae or Great Chain of Being, which arranged minerals, vegetables, more primitive or "lower" forms of animals, and more advanced or "higher" life forms on a linear scale of increasing "perfection", culminating in our species. Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for The great chain of being or scala naturæ is a classical and western Medieval conception of the order of the universe whose chief characteristic is a strict Natural history was basically static through the Middle Ages in Europe - although in the Arabic and Oriental world it proceeded at a much brisker pace - when the work of Aristotle was adapted rather rigidly into Christian philosophy, particularly by Thomas Aquinas, forming the basis for natural theology. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language The Orient is a term which simply means the " East " It originated in Western Asia to describe that part of the world Natural theology is a branch of Theology based on Reason and ordinary Experience, explaining the gods rationally as part of the physical world In the Renaissance, scholars (herbalists and humanists, particularly) returned to direct observation of plants and animals for natural history, and many began to accumulate large collections of exotic specimens and unusual monsters. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere A monster is any of a large number of Legendary creatures which usually appear in Mythology, Legend, or Horror fiction. The rapid increase in the number of known organisms prompted many attempts at classifying and organizing species into taxonomic groups, culminating in the system of the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus. Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification The word comes from the Greek, taxis (meaning 'order' 'arrangement' and, nomos Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for

In the 18th century and well into the 19th century, natural history as a term was frequently used to refer to all descriptive aspects of the study of nature, as opposed to political, ecclesiastical or other human-related history; it was the counterpart to the analytical study of nature, natural philosophy. For the current in the 19th century German idealism see Naturphilosophie Natural philosophy or the philosophy of nature (from Roughly, it may be said that natural philosophy corresponded to modern physics and chemistry, while natural history included the biological and geological sciences, although the terminology was, and remains fairly flexible. Geology (from Greek γη gê, "earth" and λόγος Logos, "speech" lit

Beginning in Europe, professional disciplines such as physiology, botany, zoology, geology, and palaeontology formed. Physiology (from Greek grc φύσις physis, "nature origin" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study of the mechanical physical Botany, plant science(s, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of Biology and is the scientific study of plant Life Zoology (from Greek ζῷον, zoon, "animal" + λόγος, " Logos " "knowledge" is the branch of Geology (from Greek γη gê, "earth" and λόγος Logos, "speech" lit Palaeontology redirects here For the Scientific journal, see Palaeontology (journal. Natural history, formerly the main subject taught by college science professors, was increasingly scorned by scientists of a more specialized manner and relegated to an "amateur" activity, rather than a part of science proper. Particularly in Britain and the United States, this grew into specialist hobbies such as the study of birds, butterflies, seashells (malacology/conchology), beetles and wildflowers; meanwhile, scientists tried to define a unified discipline of biology (though with only partial success, at least until the modern evolutionary synthesis). Ornithology (from Greek ὄρνις ὄρνιθος ornis, ornithos, "bird" and λόγος logos, "knowledge" is the branch of Malacology is the branch of Invertebrate Zoology which deals with the study of Mollusks the second-largest Phylum of animals in terms of described Conchology is the scientific, semi-scientific or Amateur study of mollusk shells (in the UK spelled mollusc shells Foundations of modern biology There are five unifying principles Still, the traditions of natural history continued to play a part in late 19th- and early 20th century biology, especially ecology (the study of natural systems involving living organisms and the inorganic components of the earth's biosphere that support them), ethology (the scientific study of animal behavior), and evolutionary biology (the study of the relationships between life-forms over very long periods of time), and re-emerges today as integrative organismal biology. Ecology (from Greek grc οἶκος oikos, "house(hold" and grc -λογία -logia) is the scientific study of Ethology ( from Greek ἦθος ethos, "character" and λόγος logos, "knowledge") is the scientific study of Animal Evolutionary biology is a sub-field of Biology concerned with the origin of Species from a Common descent, and Descent of species

Amateur collectors and natural history entrepreneurs played an important role in building the large natural history collections of the 19th and early-20th centuries, particularly the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. The Smithsonian Institution (smɪθsoʊnɪən is an educational and research institute and associated Museum complex administered and funded by the Government of The National Museum of Natural History is a Natural history Museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National

Natural history museums

Main articles: :Category:Natural history museums and Natural history museum

The term "natural history" forms the descriptive part of institution names, such as the Natural History Museum in London, the Humboldt Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, the Grigore Antipa Museum of Natural History in Bucharest, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington D. The Natural History Museum is one of three large Museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London (the others are the Science Museum London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The Museum für Naturkunde (in English, the Museum of Natural History) widely known as the Naturkundemuseum, occasionally as the Humboldt Museum C. , the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle, the Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, which also publishes a magazine called Natural History. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is a Natural history Museum located approximately five miles (8 km east of downtown Cleveland Ohio in This article is about an organization that operates museums For the foundation which supports scientific research refer to the Carnegie Institution of Washington. The Field Museum of Natural History is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture has been a Washington state museum since 1899 The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University is among the oldest largest and most prolific university natural history museums in the world The American Museum of Natural History ( AMNH) located on the Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York, USA is one of the largest and most The City of New York

Natural history museums, which evolved from cabinets of curiosities, played an important role in the emergence of professional biological disciplines and research programs. For the 2002 novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child see The Cabinet of Curiosities For the 2008 Jane's Addiction box set see A Cabinet of Curiosities Particularly in the 19th century, scientists began to use their natural history collections as teaching tools for advanced students and the basis for their own morphological research. The term morphology in Biology refers to the outward appearance ( Shape, Structure, Colour, Pattern) of an Organism

Natural history and naturalist societies

The term "natural history" alone, or sometimes together with archeology, forms the name of many national, regional and local natural history societies that maintain records for birds (ornithology), mammals (mammology), insects (entomology), fungi (mycology) and plants (botany). Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. Ornithology (from Greek ὄρνις ὄρνιθος ornis, ornithos, "bird" and λόγος logos, "knowledge" is the branch of Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands Insects ( Class Insecta) are a major group of Arthropods and the most diverse group of Animals on the Earth with over a million described Entomology (from Greek grc ἔντομος entomos, "that which is cut in pieces or engraved/segmented" hence "insect" and grc -λογία A fungus (ˈfʌŋgəs is a eukaryotic Organism that is a member of the kingdom Fungi (ˈfʌndʒaɪ Mycology (from the Greek μύκης meaning "fungus" is the branch of Biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Botany, plant science(s, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of Biology and is the scientific study of plant Life They may also have microscopical and geological sections. A microscope ( Greek: ( micron) = small + ( skopein) = to look or see is an instrument for viewing objects that are Geology (from Greek γη gê, "earth" and λόγος Logos, "speech" lit

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 founded in 1858, Manchester Microscopical and Natural History Society established in 1880, Scarborough Field Naturalists' Society and the Sorby Natural History Society, Sheffield, founded in 1918. The British Entomological and Natural History Society or BENHS is a British entomological society Birmingham ( ˈbɜːmɪŋəm Ber -ming-um Glasgow (ˈglæzgoʊ is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Sheffield ( is a city and Metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England 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 specimens back to museums in Britain. See also Bureaucrat The term civil service has two distinct meanings Branch of governmental service in which individuals are hired on the basis The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located (See also Indian natural history)

See also

• Natural philosophy
• Natural science
• Naturalism (philosophy)
• Nature documentary
• Nature writing
• Nature
• Nature study
• Big History
• Timeline of evolution

References

Citations and notes

General information

• Herman, Stephen G. Wildlife biology and natural history: time for a reunion. Journal of Wildlife Management (2002) 66(4):933–946
• Kohler, Robert E. Landscapes and Labscapes: Exploring the Lab-Field Border in Biology. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 2002.
• Mayr, Ernst. The Growth of Biological Thought: Diversity, Evolution, and Inheritance. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press: Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1982.
• Rainger, Ronald; Keith R. Benson; and Jane Maienschein, editors. The American Development of Biology. University of Pennsylvania Press: Philadelphia, 1988.

External links

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