born Feb. 12, 1815, Douglas, Isle of Man
died Nov. 18, 1854, near Edinburgh, Scot.
British naturalist.
After studying medicine, he left the field to devote himself to natural history. He conducted extensive research on mollusks and sea stars, participating in dredgings and expeditions. While studying ocean life, he developed an interest in the geographic distribution of animals. Later he divided the plants of Britain into five well-defined groups, maintaining that most of them, like land animals, had migrated to the islands over continuous land during three separate periods: before, during, and after the glacial passage. He held numerous institutional and academic posts, and he was a major figure in establishing the fields of oceanography, biogeography, and paleoecology.