Castiglioni, Luigi (03 October 1757–22 April 1832), naturalist, author, and politician, was born in Milan, Italy, the son of Count Ottavio Castiglioni and Teresa Verri, both of distinguished families. In childhood, after the death of his father, Castiglioni and his older brother, Alfonso, were adopted by their mother’s brother, Pietro Verri, whose political ideas and writings placed him and his brother, Alessandro, among the central figures of the Italian Enlightenment. Although Verri provided his nephews with material comfort and intellectual guidance, their relationship was sometimes contentious....
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Castiglioni, Luigi (1757-1832), naturalist, author, and politician
Richard N. Juliani
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Josselyn, John (fl. 1630–1675), travel writer and naturalist
Donald Wharton
Josselyn, John (fl. 1630–1675), travel writer and naturalist, was born in Willingale-Doe (probably at Torrell’s Hall), Essex, England, the son of Sir Thomas Josselyn, a gentleman landholder, and Theodora Cooke Bere of Kent. Josselyn’s formal education is unknown, though one may well infer from his writings easy familiarity with the classics and English poets as well as extensive knowledge of medicine, botany, and natural history. It is likely that the young Josselyn accompanied his family in their move to the Isle of Ely sometime in the period 1614–1618 when financial reverses forced Sir Thomas’s sale of Torrell’s Hall. This decline in fortune was followed by others that resulted in the loss of most if not all of the family estate....
