Emanuel Mendez da Costa (June 5, 1717 – May 31, 1791) was an English botanist, naturalist, philosopher, and collector of valuable notes and of manuscripts, and of anecdotes of the literati.
He was one of the first Jewish Fellows of the Royal Society of London, and became its librarian. He was also a fellow of the Antiquarian Society of London; a member of the Botanic Society in Florence, the Aurelian Society, and the Gentleman's Society at Spalding.
His publications included A Natural History of Fossils 1757, Elements of Conchology, or An Introduction to the Knowledge of Shells 1776, British Conchology 1778, and several important papers in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society and other scientific publications.
P.J.P. Whitehead, 1977. "Emanuel Mendez da Costa and the conchology,or Natural History of Shells", Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History (Historical Series), 6:1-24
Rousseau, G.S.; Haycock, David (2000). "The Jew of Crane Court: Emanuel Mendes Da Costa (1717–91), Natural History and Natural Excess". Jnl of the History of Science 38 (120): 127–170.