Seeing further: the story of science & the Royal Society — 8 RICHARD FORTEY

1. 1. The London specimen of Archaeopteryx, discovered in 1861, is one of the most important fossils in history because it provided a striking intermediate form between reptiles and birds, supporting Darwin's theory of evolution.
2. 2. Scientific collections provide the ground truth on which hypotheses are built, analogous to how physics has laboratories.
3. 3. Joseph Banks' ethnological and natural history collections from Cook's Endeavour voyage, displayed in 1772, established specimens as vouchers for truth and developed routines for permanent scientific collections.
4. 4. Linnaeus' system of binomial nomenclature and hierarchical classification provided a practical arrangement for organizing the vast collections of plants and animals from global exploration.
5. 5. The Ashmolean Museum, opening in 1683, was the first public museum where qualified people and the public could learn from objects without a fee.
6. 6. Sir Hans Sloane's collections, acquired by the nation in 1753 via the British Museum Act, established the modern notion of a scientific museum with permanent public access.
7. 7. Scientific collections achieve importance from three innovations: scientific purpose, a rational curation system, and the museum as a permanent public repository.
8. 8. The London Archaeopteryx specimen was acquired for £700 as part of Dr. Karl Häberlein's collection, which included 23 reptiles, 294 fishes, 194 plants, and over a thousand invertebrates.