William Jardine was born in Edinburgh in 1800 and died at Sandown, Isle of Wight, 74 years later. In 1821 he inherited Jardine Hall near Lockerbie and became the 7th Baronet of Applegirth in Dumfriesshire. He was a Natural Historian and not only carried out research but was determined to bring his love of Natural History to the general public. He was eminent as an ornithologist but also had a reputation as an ichthyologist (fish), entomologist (insects) and botanist. He was author of many books and magazines but is best known for his 40 volume The Naturalist Library for which he was editor and publisher. It is subdivided into Ornithology (14 volumes) Mammalia (13 volumes) Entomology (7 volumes) and Ichthyology (6 volumes). The etcher/engraver for all 40 volumes in this series was his brother-in-law , the Scottish artist William Lizars.