(born Nov. 29, 1627, Black Notley, Essex, Eng.—died Jan. 17, 1705, Black Notley) British naturalist and botanist. He attended Cambridge University and spent many years there as a fellow.
With Francis Willughby (1635–1672) he undertook a complete catalog of living things, of which he published numerous volumes. His enduring legacy to botany was the establishment of species as the ultimate unit of taxonomy. He attempted to base his systems of classification on all the structural characteristics of organisms, including internal anatomy, rather than on a single feature. By insisting on the importance of lungs and heart structure, he effectively established the class of mammals, and he divided insects according to the presence or absence of multiple metamorphoses. Coming closer to a truly natural system of taxonomy than had any of his contemporaries, Ray helped make possible Carolus Linnaeus's later contributions.
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