Background
He was born on 9 May 1797 in Street Vincent and was the son of the Reverend John Guilding and his wife Sarah.
He was born on 9 May 1797 in Street Vincent and was the son of the Reverend John Guilding and his wife Sarah.
He wrote numerous illustrated papers for journals of scholarly societies in England. His book “ Vincent” was published in Glasgow in 1825. He corresponded with Charles Darwin, providing him notes on the natural history of the Caribbean region.
He left Street Vincent in 1802 at the age of five for England, studying there and matriculating from Oxford.
He returned to Street Vincent in 1817. His father died in 1818 and he took up work as garrison chaplain and left for England in 1819.
At the age of 20 he was elected Fellow of the Linnean Society and was acquainted with William J. Hooker and A. B. Lambert with whom he corresponded. Guilding was an excellent artist and engraver and he produced a "Table of Colours Arranged for Naturalists" in 1825 which may have been the first biological colour chart.
He died in Bermuda on 22 October 1831.