John Edmonstone was born in British Guiana (now Guyana). Little is known about his life, such as his date of birth, his later years, or his place of death and burial.  

It is known, however, that he grew up enslaved on a plantation in Guyana, South America. 

John travelled to Scotland with the owner of the plantation in the 1800s. At that time, a man called Charles Waterton, who was an explorer and family friend, shared his knowledge of taxidermy with John. Together they went on several expeditions into rainforests.  

In 1807, it became illegal to enslave people in the British Empire and so John was freed.

He moved to Edinburgh to live, working as a taxidermist at the Natural Museum and earning extra money by teaching his skills to students. Interestingly, in 1825, Charles Darwin, then a 17 year-old student who was later to become a world famous naturalist and explorer, lived just a few doors away.  

Darwin decided to take lessons from John, who would have been forgotten had Darwin not written fondly about his time with his teacher, saying:

“He gave me lessons for payment and I used often to sit with him, for he was a very pleasant and intelligent man.”

Whilst they were working together, Edmonstone would often tell Darwin tales of beautiful tropical rainforests, colourful birds and strange animals he had seen in his native Guyana. Many experts believe that these stories inspired Darwin in his future explorations. Interestingly, Darwin had been described as hating the idea of slavery. We now know why: his friend and teacher was the amazing John Edmonstone.