View source for Alexander Wilson (ornithologist)

{{short description|Scottish-American poet, ornithologist, naturalist, and illustrator (1766-1813)}}
{{For|other people named Alexander Wilson|Alexander Wilson (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox scientist
|name              = Alexander Wilson
|image             = Wilson Alexander 1766-1813.jpg
|caption           = Alexander Wilson
|birth_date        = July 6, 1766
|birth_place       = [[Paisley, Renfrewshire|Paisley]], Scotland
|death_date        = {{Death date and age|1813|8|23|1766|7|6}}
|death_place       = [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], United States
|residence         =
|citizenship       =
|nationality       = [[Scottish-American]]
|ethnicity         =
|field             = [[Natural history|naturalist]]
|work_institutions =
|alma_mater        =
|doctoral_advisor  =
|doctoral_students =
|known_for         =
|author_abbrev_bot =
|author_abbrev_zoo =
|influences        =
|influenced        =
|prizes            =
|religion          =
|footnotes         =
|signature         = Alexander Wilson signature.svg
}}
'''Alexander Wilson''' (July 6, 1766 – August 23, 1813) was a [[Scottish-American]] poet, [[ornithologist]], [[Natural history|naturalist]], and illustrator. Identified by [[George Ord]] as the "Father of American Ornithology", Wilson is regarded as the greatest American ornithologist before [[John James Audubon|Audubon]].{{sfnp|Hunter|1983|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=exjawIGpsZsC&pg=PG111 p. 111]}}

==Biography==
=== Early life ===
Wilson was born in a Presbyterian family in [[Paisley, Renfrewshire|Paisley]], Scotland on July 6, 1766.  Alexander senior ("Saunders") had given up smuggling and taken up weaving where he did well and he supplemented income with liquor distilling. The American revolution had caused economic hardship and after the death of Wilson's mother, Mary McNab, his father remarried and moved to [[Auchenbathie Tower|Auchinbathie]]. Wilson got a little bit of schooling but spent time herding livestock and at thirteen he apprenticed with his brother-in-law William Duncan. He also worked four years as a [[journeyman]], shooting grouse in free time and peddling wares across Scotland.<ref>Cantwell:15-17.</ref>  

=== Poetry and emigration ===
While working as a weaver in Paisley, Wilson became seriously interested in poetry. He was inspired by the dialect verse of [[Robert Burns]], who was only seven years older. He was close friends with fellow Paisley poet [[Ebenezer Picken]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Brown|first=Robert|title=Paisley Poets: With Brief Memoirs of Them, and Selections from Their Poetry, Volume 1|publisher=J.&J. Cook|year=1889|location=London|pages=64–65}}</ref>

In addition to ballads and pastoral pieces, Wilson wrote satirical commentary on the conditions of weavers in the mills. In 1792 he wrote a poem called "Watty and Meg: A wife reformed" on a drunkard and his wife, which was quite popular. His authorship of a satirical poem "The Shark, or Lang Mills Detected" with severe personal statements about a mill owner named William Sharp resulted in a libel suit. He then began to blackmail Sharp and this led to Wilson's arrest. His work was said to be inflammatory, against the English, and libelous; he was often in trouble with the law. Because he devoted little time to his trade as a weaver, Wilson lived in poverty. In 1794, he decided to emigrate to America.<ref name="paisley.org.uk">https://www.paisley.org.uk/paisley-history/alexander-wilson/, ALEXANDER WILSON</ref>

=== From teaching to ornithology ===
[[File:Milestown School in East Oak Lane, Philadelphia.png|thumb|260px|[[Milestown School]] in the 19th century]]
With a nephew, Wilson left Scotland in May 1794 at the age of {{Age|1766|07|06|1794|05|01}} and landed in Delaware. He walked to Philadelphia where he tried work in printing and weaving. Opportunities were scarce for weavers in the Philadelphia area, and Wilson turned to teaching.

Wilson taught at the [[Milestown School]] in Bristol Township, the present-day [[East Oak Lane, Philadelphia|East Oak Lane]] neighborhood of Philadelphia, for five years from 1796 to 1801.{{sfnp|Hunter|1983|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=exjawIGpsZsC&pg=PA65 pp. 65–68]}} A scandalous affair with a married woman in 1801 forced him to leave. He then moved on to teach briefly in New Jersey.

Eventually, Wilson settled into a position at [[Grays Ferry, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Gray's Ferry]], Pennsylvania, and took up residence in nearby [[Kingsessing, Philadelphia|Kingsessing]]. There, he met the famous naturalist [[William Bartram]], who encouraged Wilson's interest in [[ornithology]] and painting.

Resolved to publish a collection of illustrations of all the birds of North America, Wilson traveled widely, collecting and painting. He also secured subscribers to fund his work, the nine-volume ''American Ornithology'' (1808–1814). Of the 268 species of birds illustrated in its pages, 26 had not previously been described. His illustrations of birds in poses were an inspiration for James Audubon and other illustrators and naturalists.<ref>https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674072558, Alexander Wilson The Scot Who Founded American Ornithology</ref>

In 1813, Wilson was elected a member of the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=1813&year-max=1813&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2021-04-02|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>

[[File:Drawing of Clark's nutcracker by Alexander Wilson.png|thumb|left|Illustration of [[Clark's nutcracker]] by  Wilson]]

=== Death ===
[[File:Alexander Wilson Statue.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Wilson statue at [[Paisley Abbey]] ]]
[[File:Gravesite of Alexander Wilson (ornithologist).jpg|thumb|The gravesite of Alexander Wilson (1766–1813) at the Gloria Dei (Old Swedes) cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA (17 December 2022).]]
Wilson died on August 23, 1813, "of dysentery, overwork, and chronic poverty" according to one report.<ref>https://daily.jstor.org/alexander-wilsons-birds/, Alexander Wilson's Birds</ref> He was buried in Philadelphia, in the cemetery at [[Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church National Historic Site|Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') church]].{{sfnp|Hunter|1983|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=exjawIGpsZsC&pg=PG113 p. 113]}} The two final volumes of ''American Ornithology'' were completed by Wilson's friend and patron [[George Ord]], who was an executor of Wilson's estate.<ref name="Rhoads">{{cite book |last1=Rhoads |first1=Samuel N. |title=George Ord |date=1908 |page=8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQMiAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA8 }}</ref>

An image entitled "Swedish Lutheran Church", which depicts an apparently elderly individual mourning at the grave of Wilson,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Halley|first=Matthew R.|date=2018|title=Jefferson's Ornithology Reconsidered|url=https://www.amphilsoc.org/sites/default/files/2019-03/attachments/Halley.pdf|journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society|volume=162|pages=231–258}}</ref> was drawn by [[Thomas Sully]] (1783–1872), engraved and printed in 1828 by Cephas G. Childs and B. Rogers, respectively, and published in a book of landscapes, ''Views of Philadelphia'' (1827–1830).<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Strickland|first1=George|title=Views in Philadelphia and its vicinity|last2=Reinagle|first2=Hugh|last3=Doughty|first3=Thomas|last4=Mason|first4=William|last5=Childs|first5=Cephas Grier|last6=Steel|first6=James W|date=1827|publisher=Published by C.G. Childs, engraver|location=Philadelphia|language=en|oclc=82059675}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
In Paisley, a statue of Wilson was erected on the grounds of [[Paisley Abbey]]. A memorial on the banks of [[River Cart]], near the Hammills rapids and waterfall, commemorates Wilson's connection to that city. The memorial is inscribed "Remember Alexander Wilson 1766–1813. Here was his boyhood playground."<ref name="Renfrewshire: Heritage and Local History">{{cite web |url=http://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/webcontent/home/services/leisure+and+culture/heritage+and+local+history/els-jh-famouspeoplealexanderwilson |title=Renfrewshire: Heritage and Local History Exhibits |access-date=2013-06-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023225151/http://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/webcontent/home/services/leisure+and+culture/heritage+and+local+history/els-jh-famouspeoplealexanderwilson |archive-date=October 23, 2014  }}</ref>

A genus of warblers, ''[[Wilsonia (bird)|Wilsonia]]'' (now obsolete), was named for Wilson by [[Charles Lucien Bonaparte]]. Several species of bird were also named in honor of Wilson, including the [[Wilson's storm-petrel]], [[Wilson's plover]], [[Wilson's phalarope]], [[Wilson's snipe]], and [[Wilson's warbler]]. In 2023, the [[American Ornithological Society]] decided to rename Wilson's warbler and Wilson's snipe.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Drenson |first1=Brandon |title=US ornithological society says dozens of birds will be renamed |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67298103 | date=2 November 2023|access-date=2 November 2023|work=BBC.co.uk}}</ref> 

According to an article about his life, Wilson's meeting with [[James Audubon]] "probably inspired Audubon to publish his own book on birds, and he also influenced many later artists and ornithologists".<ref name="paisley.org.uk"/>

''[[The Wilson Journal of Ornithology]]'' and the Wilson Ornithological Society also bear his name.

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="200">
File:Wilson, Plate 1, Volume 1, American Ornithology.tiff|''American Ornithology'', Vol. 1, Plate 1
File:American ornithology1.gif|Illustration from ''American Ornithology''
File:Wilson's Plover male RWD2.jpg|[[Wilson's plover]] (''Charadrius wilsonia'')
File:Alexander Wilson monument, Philadelphia.jpg|Replacement headstone at Wilson's grave in Philadelphia
File:Anchor Mills Memorial - geograph.org.uk - 373255.jpg|Memorial in Paisley near the [[River Cart]] 
</gallery>

==Published works==
* Wilson, Alexander. n.d. ''The tears of Britain''. A poem. [[OCLC]]: 166684875.
* Wilson, Alexander. 1808–1814. ''American Ornithology; or, the Natural History of the Birds of the United States: Illustrated with Plates Engraved and Colored from Original drawings taken from Nature''.
* Wilson, Alexander. 1800. List of pieces written by Mr. Alexander Wilson, now in Philadelphia. [Paisley, Scotland]: Printed by Andrew Young. At head of title: Paisley repository. No. VIII. Probable decade of imprint from NSTC. "The American blue bird [by A. Wilson, in verse]": p.&nbsp;2-3; "The Baltimore bird [by A. Wilson, part in verse]": p.&nbsp;4.
* Wilson, Alexander. 1800. ''Watty and Meg'': or the wife reclaimed, together with : Habbie Sampson and his wife or, a new way of raising the wind : Donald and his dog : the West Kintra weaver turned teetotaler : the Loss o' the pack : John Tamson's cart : Takin' it out o' his mouth. Paisley, Scotland: W. Wilson.
* Wilson, Alexander. 1800. ''Rab and Ringan'': a tale as delivered in the Pantheon, Edinburgh by the author of Watty and Meg; to which is added The twa cats and the cheese, a tale. Glasgow: Brash & Reid.
* Wilson, Alexander. 1801. Oration, on the power and value of national liberty delivered to a large assembly of citizens, at Milestown, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, March 4, 1801. Philadelphia: Printed by H. Maxwell. Reprinted in Early American imprints. Second series;, no. 1668.
* Wilson, Alexander. Papers, 1806–1813. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. This material relates to Alexander B. Grosart's biography of Wilson. There are notes and copies of letters and documents, including a copy of Wilson's will. There is one poem by Wilson, "The Last Wish," and an 1806 letter to William Bartram.
* Wilson, Alexander. 1814. ''The Foresters: A Poem, Descriptive of a Pedestrian Journey to the Falls of Niagara in the Autumn of 1804''. Newtown (PA): S. Siegfried & J. Wilson. Also published in the magazine ''The Port Folio'' in 1809/1810.

==See also==
*[[List of 18th-century British working-class writers]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
* {{cite book |last=Hunter |first=Clark |title=The Life and Letters of Alexander Wilson |publisher=[[American Philosophical Society]] |series=''Memoirs'' series, Vol. 154 |location=Philadelphia |year=1983 |isbn=0-87169-154-X |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=exjawIGpsZsC }}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last1=Burtt |first1=Edward H. Jr. |last2=Davis |first2=William E. Jr. |title=Alexander Wilson: The Scot Who Founded American Ornithology |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, Mass. |year=2013 }}
* {{cite book |last=Cantwell |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Cantwell |title=Alexander Wilson: Naturalist and Pioneer |url=https://archive.org/details/alexanderwilsonn00cant |url-access=registration |publisher=J.B. Lippincott Company |location=Philadelphia |year=1961 |lccn=61-12246 }}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Wilson, Alexander}} <!-- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. -->
* {{cite book |last=Crichton |first=Thomas |title=Biographical Sketch of the Late Alexander Wilson to a Young Friend |publisher=J. Neilson |location=[[Paisley, Renfrewshire|Paisley, Scotland]] |year=1819 }}
* {{Cite book |first1=Hamish |last1=MacDonald |others=with illustrations by Alexander Wilson |publisher=Scotland Street Press |title=Wilson's Ornithology & Burds in Scots |url=https://www.scotlandstreetpress.com/product/wilsons-ornithology-burds-in-scots |access-date=2022-06-08 |date=2020 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last=Mearns |first=Barbara & Richard |title=Biographies for Birdwatchers |year=1988 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=0-12-487422-3 }}
* {{cite book |last=Ord |first=George |author-link=George Ord |title=Sketch of the Life of Alexander Wilson |url=https://archive.org/details/sketchoflifeofal00ordg |publisher=Harrison Hall |year=1828 }} Expanded from Ord's vol. 9 of ''American Ornithology''.
* {{cite book |last=Paton |first=Allan Park |title=Wilson the Ornithologist: A New Chapter in His Life |url=https://archive.org/details/wilsonornitholog00pato_0 |publisher=Longmans, Green & Company |year=1863 }}
* {{cite book |last=Plate |first=Robert |title=Alexander Wilson: Wanderer in the Wilderness |url=https://archive.org/details/alexanderwilsonw00plat |url-access=registration |publisher=David McKay Company, Inc. |location=New York |year=1966 |lccn=66-11348 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Rothman |first=Irving N. |title=Alexander Wilson's Forest Adventure: the Sublime and the Satirical in Wilson's Poem 'The Foresters' |journal=Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |volume=6 |issue=4 |year=1973 |pages=242–254 |issn=0037-9778 |doi=10.3366/jsbnh.1973.6.4.242 |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/jsbnh.1973.6.4.242 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Stone |first=Witmer  |title=Some Unpublished Letters of Alexander Wilson and John Abbot |journal=The Auk |volume=23 |number=4 |date=October 1906 |pages=361–368 |doi=10.2307/4070424 |jstor=4070424 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/86140 }}
* {{cite book |last=Wilson |first=James Southall |author-link=James Southall Wilson |title=Alexander Wilson, Poet–Naturalist: A Study of His Life with Selected Poems |url=https://archive.org/details/alexanderwilson01wilsgoog |publisher=Neale Publishing Company |location=New York |year=1906 }}

==External links==
===Collections===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20180516190137/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~PUBLIC/wilson/front.html Complete illustrations] from the 9-volume edition of ''Alexander Wilson, American Ornithologist'' (at [[University of Virginia]])
* [http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/cdm/search/searchterm/alexander!wilson/field/title!title/mode/all!all/conn/and!and/order/nosort Selected plates] from Wilson's ''American Ornithology'' (at [[Linda Hall Library]])
*[https://exhibits.mannlib.cornell.edu/majestysublime/ Alexander Wilson] (exhibition at [[Cornell University]])
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110720124457/http://spenserians.cath.vt.edu/authorrecord.php?action=GET&recordid=33320 Wilson's poetry] – collection of Wilson's poetry (at [[Virginia Tech]])

===Other sources===
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{wikisource author-inline}}
* {{Commons category-inline|Alexander Wilson}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Alexander Wilson |sopt=t}}
* {{Librivox author |id=8278}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Alexander}}
[[Category:1766 births]]
[[Category:1813 deaths]]
[[Category:18th-century American illustrators]]
[[Category:19th-century American illustrators]]
[[Category:18th-century American male artists]]
[[Category:19th-century American male artists]]
[[Category:American naturalists]]
[[Category:American ornithologists]]
[[Category:Artists from Paisley, Renfrewshire]]
[[Category:Scottish emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies]]
[[Category:Scottish naturalists]]
[[Category:Scottish ornithologists]]
[[Category:Scottish political writers]]
[[Category:Scottish schoolteachers]]
[[Category:Poets from Paisley, Renfrewshire]]
[[Category:American bird artists]]
[[Category:Writers from Paisley, Renfrewshire]]
[[Category:Burials at Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church]]
[[Category:Members of the American Philosophical Society]]