C. Bingham Newland

Cressy Bingham Newland (1852 – 1921) was a British naturalist and writer.

Newland is best known for his book, What is Instinct? Some Thoughts on Telepathy and Subconsciousness in Animals, published in 1916.

Newland used the analogy of the Marconi wireless system to understand instinctual behavior amongst animals.

A review in the Nature journal commented that Newland has many interesting observations but "he has ventured on a line of interpretation where verification is impossible" and his ideas were "too metaphysical". Another review suggested that "Mr Newland can scarely expect biologists to adopt his theory... though we cannot take the philosophy of this book seriously, yet it constitutes pleasant reading, on account of its original observations and genuine feelings for nature."

Newland died in 1921.

Selected publications

What is Instinct? Some Thoughts on Telepathy and Subconsciousness in Animals (1916)