Alexander Wilson (Born in 1766) was born in Paisley, Scotland. In 1779, he was apprenticed with his brother-in-law as a weaver, after which he went to work as a weaver for various relatives. His main interests soon became walking in the countryside and writing poetry. During this time, there was social upheaval and political unrest in Europe and America, and he used poetry to make a statement on what he regarded as the unfair treatment of the weavers by their employers. In most cases, many of his poems were judged to be libelous and inflammatory, and he got on the wrong side of the law more than once. Probably, Wilson spent more time writing than weaving; this made him to live in poverty and was forced to borrow money to pay for the cost of his court cases and for other expenses.
So, at the age of 27, in May 1794, Wilson and his nephew, who was 16 years old by then, left for America in search for a better life. They resided somewhere near Philadelphia where Wilson taught school at Milestown. This is where he met Bartram William, who got him interested in birds. At the age of 36, Wilson published a book in which he illustrated all the North American birds. The artist traveled a lot, gathering subscribers for the book, and observing and painting birds. His 9-volume work illustrated 268 species. It was titled “American Ornithology”, and included descriptions of 26 new species. He also published many observations of natural history.
