The Zoologist: In Memoriam Queen Victoria

What it is

This is a tribute to Queen Victoria published in the natural history journal The Zoologist in 1901, the year of her death. The editor was W.L. Distant. The text in the archive is a record from Wikisource, not a scan of the printed page. It opens by saying that the Victorian era had closed and that an epoch of great advances in industry, arts and sciences had ended.

Why it matters

The tribute was written by zoologists who had lived almost entirely during Victoria's reign. They connect her reign with the rise of modern thought, including uniformitarianism in geology and the principles of evolution in biology. They also link it to the zoological treasures brought from the empire, which they call Greater Britain. The piece shows how scientists saw their own work as part of the queen's era and of imperial expansion.

Look closer

• Why do the writers describe the era as a period of giant strides, and what evidence do they give?
• How does the link to Greater Britain shape the way they describe nature and collecting?
• Whose contribution to science and empire is not mentioned in this tribute?