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Henry Walter Bates
1825Feb, 8

Henry Walter Bates

Henry Walter Bates, English geographer, biologist, and explorer (d. 1892)
Henry Walter Bates (8 February 1825, in Leicester – 16 February 1892, in London) was an English naturalist and explorer who gave the first scientific account of mimicry in animals. He was most famous for his expedition to the rainforests of the Amazon with Alfred Russel Wallace, starting in 1848. Wallace returned in 1852, but lost his collection on the return voyage when his ship caught fire. When Bates arrived home in 1859 after a full eleven years, he had sent back over 14,712 species (mostly of insects) of which 8,000 were (according to Bates, but see Van Wyhe) new to science. Bates wrote up his findings in his best-known work, The Naturalist on the River Amazons.

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Events on 1825

  • 27Jan

    Indian Territory

    The U.S. Congress approves Indian Territory (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the "Trail of Tears".
  • 9Feb

    United States presidential election, 1824

    After no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes in the US presidential election of 1824, the United States House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams as President of the United States.
  • 2Mar

    Capture of the El Mosquito

    Roberto Cofresí, one of the last successful Caribbean pirates, is defeated in combat and captured by authorities.
  • 4Jun

    Visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to the United States

    General Lafayette, a French officer in the American Revolutionary War, speaks at what would become Lafayette Square, Buffalo, during his visit to the United States.
  • 22Jun

    Seigneurial system of New France

    The British Parliament abolishes feudalism and the seigneurial system in British North America.