Editing John Ray (section)

==Legacy==
[[File:John Ray woodcut.jpg|thumb|upright|Woodcut (1693)]]
Ray's biographer, Charles Raven, commented that "Ray sweeps away the litter of mythology and fable... and always insists upon accuracy of observation and description and the testing of every new discovery".{{sfn|Raven|1950}}<sup>p10</sup> Ray's works were directly influential on the development of taxonomy by [[Carl Linnaeus]].

The [[Ray Society]], named after John Ray, was founded in 1844. It is a scientific [[text publication society]] and [[Charitable organization|registered charity]], based at the [[Natural History Museum, London]], which exists to publish books on natural history, with particular (but not exclusive) reference to the flora and fauna of the British Isles. As of 2017, the Society had published 179 volumes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.raysociety.org.uk/ |title=The Ray Society |access-date=25 December 2017 }}</ref>

The John Ray Society (a separate organisation) is the Natural Sciences Society at [[St Catharine's College, Cambridge]]. It organises a programme of events of interest to science students in the college.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.johnray.caths.cam.ac.uk/Home.html | title=John Ray Society | publisher=St Catharine's College, Cambridge | access-date=7 May 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102193538/http://www.johnray.caths.cam.ac.uk/Home.html | archive-date=2 January 2014 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1986, to mark the 300th anniversary of the publication of Ray's ''Historia Plantarum'', there was a celebration of Ray's legacy in [[Braintree, Essex]]. A "John Ray Gallery" was opened in the [[Braintree, Essex#Culture|Braintree Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |title=John Ray |url=http://www.braintreemuseum.co.uk/john-ray/ |publisher=Braintree Museum |access-date=1 February 2015}}</ref>

The John Ray Initiative (JRI) is an educational [[charitable organization|charity]] that seeks to reconcile scientific and Christian understandings of the environment. It was formed in 1997 in response to the global environmental crisis and the challenges of sustainable development and environmental stewardship. John Ray's writings proclaimed God as creator whose wisdom is "manifest in the works of creation", and as redeemer of all things. JRI aims to teach appreciation of nature, increase awareness of the state of the global environment, and to promote a Christian understanding of environmental issues.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mission |url=http://www.jri.org.uk/introduction/mission-statement/ |publisher=The John Ray Initiative |access-date=1 February 2015}}</ref>

Furthermore, a nature walk has been established in Essex in memorium of John Ray. This walk was conquered by the Latimer/Hines household on 27 May 2024.