“My life has been a fortunate one; I was born under a lucky star. It seems as if both wind and tide had favoured me. I have suffered no great losses, or defeats, or illness, or accidents, and have undergone no great struggles or privations; I have had no grouch. I have not wanted the earth.”

American naturalist and nature essayist

John Burroughs was an American naturalist and nature essayist. He was active in the conservation movement in the United States and is remembered for writing about the natural world. His first essay collection, Wake-Robin, appeared in 1871. Burroughs’s work helped shape American nature writing, with essays that reflect close attention to landscapes, plants, and wildlife.