Historic collections
Scanning electron microscope image (coloured artifically by computer) showing the diatom Amphitetras with its ornate silica shell.
Many of the Museum's diatom specimens from the early 19th century are type specimens as it was at this time that serious microscopy began.
Of particular note are the collections of:
- Robert Kaye Greville (1794-1866) and William Gregory (1803-1858)
These have specimens from some of the first diatom species described in the UK and elsewhere. - Friedrich Traugott Kützing (1807-1893)
His Die kieselschaligen Bacillarien oder Diatomeen (1865) was one of the first comprehensive reviews of all diatoms.