John Henry Gurney

John Henry Gurney Synopsis

'John Henry Gurney: A Passion for Birds' details the life of John Henry Gurney (1819-1890) who became a successful banker when still young. His wealth enabled him to indulge his passion for collecting natural history specimens, especially birds. A major supporter of the fledgling Norfolk and Norwich Museum, in 1853 he announced his intention to collect a series of every species of bird of prey in the world, and to donate and display them in the museum. Unfortunately, devastating events in his private and professional life threatened to derail his efforts. Nevertheless, he persisted in his specimen-collecting and ornithological studies and became a world-renowned expert on birds of prey and the birds of southern Africa. Gurney named nearly 30 bird species new to science and had several species named after him.