JESSE

jesse, edward (1780-1868), english writer on natural history, was born on the 14th of january 1780, at hutton cranswick, yorkshire, where his father was vicar of the parish. he became clerk in a government office in 1798, and for a time was secretary to lord dartmouth, when president of the board of control. in 1812 he was appointed commissioner of hackney coaches, and later he became deputy surveyor-general of the royal parks and palaces. on the abolition of this office he retired on a pension, and he died at brighton on the 28th of march 1868. the result of his interest in the habits and characteristics of animals was a series of pleasant and popular books on natural history, the principal of which are _gleanings in natural history_ (1832-1835); _an angler's rambles_ (1836); _anecdotes of dogs_ (1846); and _lectures on natural history_ (1863). he also edited izaak walton's _compleat angler_, gilbert white's _selborne_, and l. ritchie's _windsor castle_, and wrote a number of handbooks to places of interest, including windsor and hampton court.