Sir Hans Sloane born in 1660, is probably the most prolific collector in history and he had eclectic tastes. Although the bulk of his collection was plant and animal specimens, he also collected coins and medals, books and manuscripts, statues, drawings and apparently had a particular love of shoes.
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Sir Hans Sloane
It was the s he acquired through his work as a physician and his generous treatment of the less wealthy in society that enabled Sloane to collect so prolifically. Ships captains, traders in local markets, explorers and aristocrats returning from their travels would bring him objects they had acquired.
But it is what Sloane did with his collection that makes him a true natural history hero.
When he died in 1753, his will stated that his entire collection of 71,000 objects should be offered to the government for the sum of £20,000 - well below its value.
Following a lottery to raise the cash and an act of parliament, the British Museum was born which later gave rise to the Natural History Museum in 1881 and the British Library in 1973.
Sloane’s generous gift to the nation began a new era of publically owned museums and was part of the transition between collecting for curiosity and using collections to better understand the world.
