| Born in Annapolis and soon a
destitute orphan, Godman became a widely respected physician who also
became one of the most accomplished American naturalists of his
era. He was the author of American
Natural History, Rambles of a
Naturalist, in addition to numerous essays and books based on
his medical research. He was a strict atheist and materialist--in the
manner of the French philosophes--for
most of his life, but he became a devout Christian after observing the
death of a young medical student who was a believing Christian. His
natural history was characterized by careful attention to the details
of new species (bison, opossum,
bald eagle, turkey) and accurate descriptions as well as illustrations.
Like William Bartram, his vision of American flora and fauna
contributed to the sense of the United States as a land of new natural
marvels. He relied not only on his own observations but also on stuffed
specimens provided by Charles
Willson Peale. He traveled to the West Indies near the end of his
short life. Page still under construction.
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