Naturalist. Son of naturalist John Bartram, who was closely associated with Franklin. William and John Bartram traveled through the south of America 1765-66, visiting regions previously unseen by colonists, and bringing home unique natural specimens.

William returned to the south, travelling alone for four years from 1773 to 1777. In his travels he visited parts of the south from North Carolina to Florida, recording over 200 new species. The journal of his travels, published in 1791 and still available, recounts his adventures and shows him to be a generation ahead of the writers such as Thoreau, who believed in the existence of deep communion with the natural world.

For more information on William Bartram visit http://ngeorgia.com/people/bartram.html.