author
William Bingley
1774–1823
An English clergyman with a strong curiosity about the natural world, he wrote lively, accessible books on animals, plants, and travel that were widely read in the early 1800s. His work helped bring natural history to general readers instead of keeping it only for specialists.
4 Audiobooks
Useful Knowledge: Volume 1. Minerals Or, a familiar account of the various productions of nature
by William Bingley
Useful Knowledge: Volume 2. Vegetables Or, a familiar account of the various productions of nature
by William Bingley
About the author
Born in Doncaster in January 1774, he was orphaned young and later studied at Peterhouse, Cambridge, taking his B.A. in 1799 and M.A. in 1803. While still an undergraduate he traveled in Wales, an experience that fed directly into his early travel writing and helped establish him as a careful observer of landscape and local life.
Bingley was both a Church of England clergyman and a prolific writer. He served for many years at Christchurch in Hampshire and later became minister of Fitzroy Chapel in Charlotte Street, London. Alongside his church work, he published on topography, botany, and zoology, building a reputation for writing that ordinary readers could enjoy.
His best-known books include A Tour round North Wales, Animal Biography, Memoirs of British Quadrupeds, and Practical Introduction to Botany. These works were popular enough to go through multiple editions, and Animal Biography was translated into several European languages. He died on March 11, 1823, at age 49.