Edward Newman

Edward Newman Biographical information Born 13 May 1801 Hampstead, United Kingdom Died 12 June 1876 (aged 75) Professional information Occupation Entomologist, botanist, writer Notable works • Zoologist (1847 – 1876) Notable investigations • Sea serpent

Edward Newman (13 May 1801 – 12 June 1876) was an English naturalist and writer who was editor-in-chief of the Zoologist, which he established, from 1843 to 1876. In 1847 he began publishing reports of sea serpent sightings in the Zoologist, a decision to which Bernard Heuvelmans attributed the beginning of the "British Period" of highly-detailed and well-authenticated sea serpent sightings. Newman was a supporter of the theory that sea serpents were Mesozoic marine reptiles such as plesiosaurs, or close relatives thereof; Philip Henry Gosse listed him as the foremost proponent of this theory.

Life and other work

Newman was born to a Quaker family in 1801, and was destined for the ropemaking business, but his early interest in natural history, particularly entomology, led to a career in publishing and science writing. In 1843, he began publishing the Zoologist, a natural history periodical which mainly published articles from readers, with the aim of making the natural sciences more accessible to, and inclusive of, laymen. Newman is probably best-remembered for his tongue-in-cheek theory, published in the first volume of the Zoologist, that pterosaurs were in fact flying marsupials.

Cryptozoological work

When Newman opened his columns to sea serpent reports in 1847, the cryptid's possible reality was widely derided in the United Kingdom, and Newman hesitated to write on the subject. However, noting that there were certainly natural phenomena behind the sightings, as the entire dossier of the sea serpent could not be explained solely by hoaxes, Newman stated that his goal was to present the facts and observations, to allow others to determine if all the reports could apply to known animals or not. Bernard Heuvelmans has frequently lauded Newman's neutral scepticism regarding alleged sightings, and argued that the scientific interest he showed stimulated sea serpent reports for the next half-century, the entirety of the "British Period," during which the reports were frequently more detailed, better-authenticated, and matter-of-fact.

In In the Wake of the Sea-Serpents (1968), thirteen accounts from the "British Period" are attributed, in whole or in part, to Newman's Zoologist columns. Notable sightings he reported include those of Daedalus and Fly. In line with his mission statement, Newman identified some of the accounts he published as probable hoaxes and cases of mistaken identity, and, by 1860, his faith in the plesiosaur theory had been shaken by a number of cases of mistaken identity involving oarfish. However, following a series of better sightings, he reiterated his belief that a large, unknown animal was behind some reports. Newman also published notices concerning moa and woolly mammoth sightings.