Sir Ashton Lever (March 5, 1729 - January 28, 1788) was an English collector of natural objects. March 5 is the 64th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (65th in leap years). ... Events July 30 - Baltimore, Maryland is founded. ... January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages English Capital London Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population –mid-2004...

Lever began by collecting seashells in about 1760, and gradually accumulated one of the richest private collections of natural objects, including live animals. He opened it to the public in April 1766, in Manchester, moving the museum to his family home at Alkrington Hall, near Rochdale, Lancashire, in 1771. In 1774, Lever moved to London, and next year his Holophusicon opened to the public in Leicester Square. Captain James Cook was so impressed by Lever's collection that he gave his Australian items to the museum. The hard, rigid outer calcium carbonate covering of certain animals is called a shell. ... Manchester is a city in the United Kingdom, considered by most to be the countrys second city [1][2]. It is a centre of the arts, the media, higher education and big business. ... Location within the British Isles Middleton is a small town located in Greater Manchester, England. ... The Rochdale war memorial Rochdale is a town in Greater Manchester in north-west England, within the traditional borders of Lancashire. ... Lancashire is a county and duchy palatine in the North of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... For other uses, see London (disambiguation). ... Leicester Square (pronounced Lester Square) is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, United Kingdom. ... James Cook, portrait by Nathaniel Dance, c. ...

Lever continued to buy new items until he became bankrupt, at which point the collection contained 28,000 specimens. Both the British Museum and the Empress of Russia declined to buy it, so it was disposed of by lottery , 8,000 tickets being sold at a guinea each. The winner, a Mr James Parkinson (who should not be confused with the famous physician also called James Parkinson who gave his name to Parkinson's disease), put the collection up for auction in 1806, the largest purchasers being the British naturalist Edward Donovan and Leopold von Fichtel, bidding on behalf of the Imperial Museum of Vienna. Other purchasers included the Earl of Derby and William Bullock, who had his own large private collection. The centre of the museum was redeveloped in 2000 to become the Great Court, with a tessellated glass roof by Foster and Partners surrounding the original Reading Room. ... Catherine II of Russia Catherine II the Great (Russian: Екатерина II Великая or Yekaterina II Velikaya, 2 May 1729 — 6 November [O.S. 17 November] 1796), born Sophie Augusta Fredericka of Anhalt-Zerbst) — sometimes referred to as an epitome of the enlightened despot — reigned as Empress of Russia for more than three... James Parkinson (April 11, 1755 to December 21, 1824) was an English physician, geologist, paleontologist, and political activist. ... Edward Donovan (1768 - 1837) was an English writer, traveller and amateur zoologist. ... Naturhistorisches Museum at Maria-Theresien-Platz, Vienna Naturhistorisches Museum Wien The Naturhistorisches Museum (Museum of Natural History) is a large museum located in Vienna, Austria. ... Edward Smith Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby (April 21, 1775 - June 30, 1851) was an English politician, landowner, builder, farmer, art collector and naturalist. ... William Bullock ( c. ...

Lever's collection was catalogued by George Shaw. George Kearsley Shaw. ...

Reference

• The Bird Collectors by Barbara and Richard Mearns ISBN 0124874401

External link

• Manchester celebrities