Edward Donovan (1768 – 1 February 1837) was an Anglo-Irish writer, natural history illustrator, and amateur zoologist. He did not travel, but collected, described and illustrated many species based on the collections of other naturalists. His many books were successful in his time. He died penniless in 1837 leaving a large family destitute. Personal life Almost nothing is known about Donovan's family background, education or early life, although he is known to have been born in Cork, Ireland, and was originally surnamed O'Donovan. He is presumed to have had some independent wealth. His health declined in later years and he died penniless at his home in John Street in 1837 leaving a large family destitute. Biography Aged 21, he moved to London. He was an avid collector of natural history specimens purchased mainly at auctions of specimens from voyages of exploration. He was a fellow of the Linnean Society and the Wernerian Society which gave him access to the best collections and libraries in London. It was quite common for private collectors to open small public museums, and in 1807 he founded the London Museum and Institute of Natural History. According to the catalogues and contemporary reviews, this exhibited several hundred cases of world birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, molluscs, insects, corals and other invertebrates and botanical specimens and other exotica alongside his British collections. Entry cost 1 shilling. It had public education about natural history as an objective, as well as value as source material for his publications. However, the museum was not as financially successful as he hoped. Donovan was, at first, the very successful author of a number of natural history titles, including The Natural History of British Birds (1792–97), The Natural History of British Insects(1792–1813), The Natural History of British Fishes (1802–08) and the two-volume Descriptive Excursions Through South Wales and Monmouthshire in the Year 1804, and the Four Preceding Summers (1805) and the short-lived Botanical Review, or the Beauties of Flora (London, 1789–90). He also wrote articles on conchology, entomology, etc., made drawings and arranged the natural history plates in Rees's Cyclopædia and undertook commissions for private albums of his botanical artwork. His works typically appealed both to serious naturalists, through the careful descriptions and a more general readership because of the attractive illustrations. His best known works are The Natural History of British Insects(1792–1813), An Epitome of the Natural History of the Insects of China