Dr Jonathan Couch

1789 - 1870  (81 years)

•         

  Name	Jonathan Couch
  Title	Dr
  Birth	11 Mar 1789	Polperro
  Christening	12 Apr 1789	Talland [Parish Circuit Or Chapel], Talland, Cornwall
  Gender	Male
  Interesting fact	zoologist, ichthyologist, botanist, archaeologist and classical scholar
  Name	16 Mar 1824 (35 years)	[Role] Fellow of Linnaean Society, Linnaean Society FLS
  	On the 16th March 1824 was elected a Fellow of the Linnaean Society
  Trade,Profession,Job	1843 (53 years)
  	Author
  Trade,Profession,Job	1815-1870 (80 years)
  	Natural Historian
  Residence	13 Apr 1870 (81 years)	Lansallos, Cornwall
  Trade,Profession,Job	13 Apr 1870 (81 years)	Polperro
  	Surgeon
  Death	13 Apr 1870	Polperro
  Probate	8 Jun 1870 (81 years)
  	COUCH Jonathan. 8 June, The Will of Jonathan Couch late of Polperro in the Parish of Lansallos in the County of Cornwall Surgeon deceased who died 13 April 1870 at Polperro aforesaid was proved at Bodmin by the oath of Sarah Couch of Polperro aforesaid Widow the Relict the sole Executrix. Effects under £450, https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/api/nuxeo/nxfile/default/1926862b-25ad-4c99-8657-96a70a42156d/file:content/001440_cottrell_1870.pdf?changeToken=11-0
  Occupation	Abt 1800 (10 years) - Bodmin Grammar School, Bodmin  - educated at the Grammar School, at Bodmin, where remained for seven years; acquired considerable classical knowledge, and all through life could read Latin with ease
  	Abt 1814 (24 years) - St Thomas' and Guys Hospital, London  - Became medical pupil united hospitals of St. Thomas and Guys, where manifested more than ordinary ability in his professional studies; marked in ‘'Medical Register” as in practice before 1815
  	Abt 1825 (35 years) - When Bewick proposed to bring out and illustrate the ‘Natural History of British Fishes,’ he secured Mr. Couch to furnish materials for the literary portion of the work; and they continued to be on terms of the closest intimacy till Mr. Bewick’s death, in 1828
  	Abt 1835 (45 years) - Seven yours afterwards, Mr. Yarrell began his great work, entitled “ The History of British Fishes,” in which Mr. Couch took so large a share, and had it not been for his aid, it is doubtful if the work could have been produced at that time.
  	1843 (53 years) - In 1843, be published parts i. and ii. of “ ‘The Cornish Fauna,” which is a rich addition to county lore; and in 1847 published his work on “The Illustrations of Instinct,” which is one of the most instructive of its class and time
  	Abt 1860 (70 years) - Royal Society of London, Carlton House Terrace, St James, Westminster, London  - Natural history and antiquities, and occasionally to geological science, that devoted the greater part of his leisure. His papers on these subjects, of which the catalogue of the Royal Society enumerates 56,and a very large number have escaped their notice, were contributed to the scientific publications of the day, or to the learned societies to which he belonged
  	1860-1865 (75 years) - His last work, “The History of the Fishes of the British Isles,” published from 1860 to 1865, and for which he had made observations during the greater portion of his life, contains more than 250 plates from his own drawing and colouring, and is at once his masterpiece, and greatest contribution to natural history.
  	1868 (78 years) - International Pisicultural Exposition, Havre  - At the International Pisicultural Exposition, held at Havre, in 1868, Mr.Couch was awarded a gold medal for a paper on “‘ The economic uses of fisheries.”
  Person ID	I14014	AHP
  Last Modified	26 Aug 2025

  
  

  Father	Richard Couch,   b. 30 Apr 1739, Talland, Cornwall
  Relationship	Birth
  Mother	Philippa (Philly) Minards(Mynards)/COUCH,   b. Abt 1742   d. Abt 22 Aug 1833, Polperro (Age 91 years)
  Relationship	Birth
  Marriage	25 Mar 1788	Talland [Parish Circuit Or Chapel], Talland, Cornwall
  Age at Marriage	He : 48 years and 11 months - She : ~ 46 years and 3 months.
  Family ID	F3990	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Birth - 11 Mar 1789 - Polperro  Occupation - Natural history and antiquities, and occasionally to geological science, that devoted the greater part of his leisure. His papers on these subjects, of which the catalogue of the Royal Society enumerates 56,and a very large number have escaped their notice, were contributed to the scientific publications of the day, or to the learned societies to which he belonged - Abt 1860 (70 years) - Royal Society of London, Carlton House Terrace, St James, Westminster, London  Residence - 13 Apr 1870 - Lansallos, Cornwall  Trade,Profession,Job - Surgeon - 13 Apr 1870 - Polperro  Death - 13 Apr 1870 - Polperro   = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Histories

  THE LATE MR. JONATHAN COUCH, F.LS., OF POLPERRO - Saturday 30 April 1870 Royal Cornwall Gazette - Saturday 30 April 1870