Sir William Jardine, 7th Baronet

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Painting by Sir William Jardine, 1833
Painting by Sir William Jardine, 1833

Sir William Jardine, 7th Baronet (February 23, 1800 - November 21, 1874, Edinburgh) was a Scottish naturalist.

Jardine made natural history available to all levels of Victorian society by editing and issuing the hugely popular forty volumes of The Naturalist's Library. It was divided into four main sections: Ornithology, Mammalia, Entomology and Ichthyology; each prepared by a leading naturalist. The artists responsible for the illustrations included Edward Lear.

Jardine's other publications included an edition of Gilbert White's Natural History of Selborne which re-established White's reputation, Illustrations of Ornithology (1825-43), and an affordable edition of Alexander Wilson's Birds of America.

Jardine was the author of a number of bird species, alone or in conjunction with his friend Prideaux John Selby.

In 'Who Do You Think You Are?' transmitted on the BBC on 18 October 2007, it was discovered that Sir Matthew Pinsent, the multiple gold medal Olympic rower, is a direct descendant of William Jardine.

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Baronetage of Nova Scotia
Preceded by
Alexander Jardine
Baronet
(of Applegirth)
1821–1874
Succeeded by
Alexander Jardine