“ SOWERBY, JAMES (1757–1822) , English natural-history artist, was born in London on the 21st of March 1757. He became a student at the Royal Academy, and subsequently taught drawing, but soon applied his art to the illustration of botanical and conchological works, and became distinguished by the publication of his English Botany (36 vols., 1790–1814) , and British Mineralogy (5 vols., 1804–1817) . ”