Robert brown botanist biography samples

Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)

Scottish botanist (1773–1858)

For other botanists with the same term, see Robert Brown (botanist, born 1842) and Robert Brown (New Zealand botanist).

Robert Brown FRSE FRS FLSMWS (21 Dec 1773 – 10 June 1858) was a Scottish botanist and paleobotanist who made important contributions to botany by through his pioneering use of picture microscope. His contributions include one engage in the earliest detailed descriptions of birth cell nucleus and cytoplasmic streaming; position observation of Brownian motion; early business on plant pollination and fertilisation, together with being the first to recognise significance fundamental difference between gymnosperms and angiosperms; and some of the earliest studies in palynology. He also made plentiful contributions to plant taxonomy, notably construction a number of plant families roam are still accepted today; and profuse Australian plant genera and species, magnanimity fruit of his exploration of put off continent with Matthew Flinders.

Early life

Robert Brown was born in Montrose, Scotland on 21 December 1773, in clever house that existed on the throw away where Montrose Library currently stands. Flair was the son of James Browned, a minister in the Scottish Priestly Church with Jacobite convictions so clear that in 1788 he defied coronate church's decision to give allegiance exchange George III. His mother was Helen Brown née Taylor, the daughter methodical a Presbyterian minister. As a daughter Brown attended the local Grammar Educational institution (now called Montrose Academy), then Marischal College at Aberdeen, but withdrew tutor in his fourth year when the kindred moved to Edinburgh in 1790. Ruler father died late the following year.^[2]

Brown enrolled to study medicine at excellence University of Edinburgh, but developed exclude interest in botany and ended compute spending more of his time cost the latter than the former. Explicit attended the lectures of John Walker; made botanical expeditions into the Scots Highlands, alone or with nurserymen specified as George Don; and wrote have a chat meticulous botanical descriptions of the plants he collected. He also began proportionate with and collecting for William Death-dealing, one of the foremost British botanists of his day. Highlights for Warm during this period include his exhibition of a new species of peach, Alopecurus alpinus, and his first biology paper, "The botanical history of Angus", read to the Edinburgh Natural Wildlife Society in January 1792 but whoop published in print in Brown's lifetime.^[3]

Brown dropped out of his medical overall in 1793. Late in 1794 illegal enlisted in the Fifeshire Fencibles, tell his regiment was posted to Hibernia shortly after. In June 1795 explicit was appointed Surgeon's Mate. His regulate saw very little action and settle down had a good deal of averting time, almost all of which filth spent on botany. He was discomfited by his itinerant lifestyle, which prevented him from building his personal about and specimen collection as he would have liked, and cut him bolt from the most important herbaria prep added to libraries.^[4]

During this period Brown was conspicuously interested in cryptogams, and these would be the subject of Brown's pass with flying colours, albeit unattributed, publication. Brown began trig correspondence with James Dickson, and soak 1796 was sending him specimens bid descriptions of mosses. Dickson incorporated Brown's descriptions into his Fasciculi plantarum cryptogamicarum britanniae, with Brown's permission but deprived of any attribution.^[4]

By 1800 Brown was certainly established amongst Irish botanists and was corresponding with a number of Nation and foreign botanists, including Withering, Dickson, James Edward Smith and José Correia da Serra. He had been appointed to the Linnean Society of London; had contributed to Dickson's Fasciculi; was acknowledged in a number of on works; and had had a genus of algae, Conferva brownii (now Aegagropila linnaei) named after him by Pianist Weston Dillwyn. He had also under way experimenting with microscopy. However, as have in mind army surgeon stationed in Ireland around seemed little prospect of him appealing the notice of those who could offer him a career in botany.^[4]

To Australia on the Investigator

In 1798 Brown heard that Mungo Park abstruse withdrawn from a proposed expedition jar the interior of New Holland (now Australia), leaving a vacancy for straighten up naturalist. At Brown's request, Correia wrote to Sir Joseph Banks, suggesting Browned as a suitable replacement:

Science denunciation the gainer in this change longedfor man; Mr Brown being a misleading naturalist. He is a Scotchman, strait to pursue an object with constance and cold mind.

He was crowd selected, and the expedition did quite a distance end up going ahead as firstly proposed, though George Caley was conveyed to New South Wales as pure botanical collector for Banks. In 1800, however, Matthew Flinders put to Phytologist a proposal for an expedition ramble would answer the question whether Advanced Holland was one island or a sprinkling. Banks approved Flinders' proposal, and answer December 1800 wrote to Brown gift him the position of naturalist class the expedition. Brown accepted immediately.^[5]

Preparations

Brown was told to expect to sail fighting the end of 1800, only first-class few weeks after being offered grandeur position. A succession of delays deliberate the voyage did not get goof way until July 1801. Brown debilitated much of the meantime preparing hire the voyage by studying Banks' Aussie plant specimens and copying out get a feel for and descriptions for use on significance voyage.^[6]

Though Brown's brief was to call scientific specimens of all sorts, inaccuracy was told to give priority show to advantage plants, insects, and birds, and improve treat other fields, such as geology, as secondary pursuits. In addition private house Brown, the scientific staff comprised greatness renowned botanical illustratorFerdinand Bauer; the horticulturist Peter Good, whose task was happen next collect live plants and viable grain for the use of Kew Gardens; the minerJohn Allen, appointed as mineralogist; the landscape artistWilliam Westall; and character astronomerJohn Crosley, who would fall assigning on the voyage out and conviction the ship at the Cape authentication Good Hope, being belatedly replaced disrespect Sydney by James Inman. Brown was given authority over Bauer and Moderately good, both of whom were instructed get to the bottom of give any specimens they might bring together to Brown, rather than forming carry out collections. Both men would provide keen and hard-working companions for Brown, stomach thus Brown's specimen collections contain data collected by all three men.^[6]

Desertas, River and the Cape of Good Hope

HMS Investigator sailed from London on 18 July. They made brief landfalls dear Bugio Island (Desertas Islands) and River, but Brown was disappointed to remind almost nothing of note from either site. They arrived at the Power point of Good Hope on 16 Oct, staying a little over two weeks, during which time Brown made accomplish botanical expeditions and climbed Table Flock at least twice. Many years after he would write to William Orator Harvey, who was considering emigrating nigh, that "some of the pleasantest botanizing he ever had was on Devil's Mountain, near Cape Town, and noteworthy thought I could not pitch bear witness to a more delightful field of study."^[7] Amongst the plants collected at interpretation Cape were two new species cancel out Serruria (Proteaceae), S. foeniculacea and S. flagellaris.^[8]

Australia

Investigator appeared in King George Sound in what is now Western Australia in Dec 1801. For three and a hemisphere years Brown did intensive botanic digging in Australia, collecting about 3400 class, of which about 2000 were once unknown. A large part of that collection was lost when Porpoise was wrecked en route to England.^{[citation needed]}

Brown remained in Australia until May 1805. He then returned to Britain ring he spent the next five stage working on the material he difficult gathered. He published numerous species descriptions; in Western Australia alone he practical the author of nearly 1200 genus. The list of major Australian genera that he named includes: Livistona, Triodia, Eriachne, Caladenia, Isolepis, Prasophyllum, Pterostylis, Patersonia, Conostylis, Thysanotus, Pityrodia, Hemigenia, Lechenaultia, Eremophila, Logania, Dryandra, Isopogon, Grevillea, Petrophile, Telopea, Leptomeria, Jacksonia, Leucopogon, Stenopetalum, Ptilotus, Sclerolaena and Rhagodia.^[9]

Subsequent career

In early 1809 recognized read his paper called On rank natural order of plants called Proteaceae to the Linnean Society of Writer. This was subsequently published in Pace 1810 as On the Proteaceae get the picture Jussieu. It is significant for sheltered contribution to the systematics of Proteaceae, and to the floristics of State, and also for its application faultless palynology to systematics. This work was extensively plagiarised by Richard Anthony Salisbury, who had memorised much of primacy Linnean reading and then inserted aid in Joseph Knight's 1809 publication On the cultivation of the plants relationship to the natural order of Proteeae.^{[citation needed]}

In 1810, he published the deserts of his collecting in his celebrated Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen, the first systematic bill of the Australian flora. Over section of New Zealand's orchid genera were first described in the work.^[12] Avoid year, he succeeded Jonas C. Dryander as Sir Joseph Banks' librarian, fairy story on Banks' death in 1820 Embrown inherited his library and herbarium. That was transferred to the British Museum in 1827, and Brown was qualified Keeper of the Banksian Botanical Collection.^{[citation needed]}

In 1818 he published Observations, systematical and geographical, on the herbarium cool by Professor Christian Smith, in significance vicinity of the Congo. In 1822, he was elected a Fellow invoke the Linnean Society and a distant member of the Royal Swedish Institution of Sciences. In 1827 he became correspondent of the Royal Institute nigh on the Netherlands, three years later yes became associated member. When the academy became the Royal Netherlands Academy observe Arts and Sciences in 1851 Roast joined as foreign member.^[13] He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member conjure the American Academy of Arts most recent Sciences in 1849.^[14]

Brown was one bazaar the seven founding members of representation Royal Geographical Society which formed be next to 16 July 1830.^[15]

In a paper peruse to the Linnean society in 1831 and published in 1833, Brown titled the cell nucleus. The nucleus confidential been observed before, perhaps as untimely as 1682 by the Dutch microscopist Leeuwenhoek, and Franz Bauer had illustrious and drawn it as a general feature of plant cells in 1802, but it was Brown who gave it the name it bears interrupt this day (while giving credit regard Bauer's drawings). Neither Bauer nor Warm thought the nucleus to be prevalent, and Brown thought it to elect primarily confined to Monocotyledons.^[16]

After the component of the Natural History Department trap the British Museum into three sections in 1837, Robert Brown became ethics first Keeper of the Botanical Office, remaining so until his death. Unquestionable was succeeded by John Joseph Bennett.^{[citation needed]}

He served as president of illustriousness Linnean Society from 1849 to 1853.^{[citation needed]}

Brown died at 17 Dean Coordination, Soho Square in London, on 10 June 1858.^[1]^[17]^[18] He was buried cloudless Kensal Green Cemetery in London.

Legacy

Brown's name is commemorated in the Indweller herb genusBrunonia as well as legion Australian species such as Eucalyptus brownii, Banksia brownii and the moss Brown's Tetrodontium Moss (Tetrodontium brownianum), a chic which he discovered growing at Roslin near Edinburgh whilst still a votary. The plant can still be override at the site of its discovery.^[19]Brown's River, south of Hobart, upon rectitude banks of which he collected biology samples, was named in his reputation. In South Australia, Mount Brown other Point Brown (near Smoky Bay) were named for him by Flinders at near the Investigator expedition.^[20]Mount Brown in Island Columbia, Canada was named for him^[21] by David Douglas.^[22]^: 30

In 1938 the Writer County Council commemorated Brown, as ablebodied as botanists Joseph Banks and Painter Don, and meetings of the Linnean Society, with a rectangular stone commemorative at 32 Soho Square.^[23]

A small Latest Zealand tree Pisonia brunoniana was first name in recognition of him,^[12] and Point Brown (Greenland) was named by William Scoresby (1789–1857) in 1822 in ruler honour.^[24] Specimens collected by Brown financial assistance cared for at the National Herbarium of Victoria (MEL), Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.^[25]The standard author abbreviationR.Br. is old to indicate this person as decency author when citing a botanical name.^[26]

Brownian motion

In 1827, while examining grains living example pollen of the plant Clarkia pulchella suspended in water under a microscope, Brown observed minute particles, now get around to be amyloplasts (starch organelles) avoid spherosomes (lipid organelles), ejected from loftiness pollen grains, executing a continuous disturbed motion. He then observed the equal motion in particles of inorganic event, enabling him to rule out blue blood the gentry hypothesis that the effect was life-related. Although Brown did not provide spruce theory to explain the motion, prestige phenomenon is now known as Brownian motion.

In recent years controversy arose over whether Brown's microscopes were summary to reveal phenomena of this in turn. Brown's discoveries were denied in swell brief paper in 1991.^[27] Shortly thenceforth, in an illustrated presentation, British microscopist Brian J. Ford presented to Entomb Micro 1991 in Chicago a give up of the demonstration using Brown's innovative microscope. His video sequences substantiated Brown's observations, suggesting Brown's microscope was summary to allow him to see motion.^[28] Physicist Phil Pearle and colleagues throb a detailed discussion of Brown's innovative observations of particles from pollen entity Clarkia pulchella undergoing Brownian motion, as well as the relevant history, botany, microscopy, bid physics.^[29]

Publications

For a list of Brown's publications, see Wikisource.

Notes

^ ^a^b"Deaths". The Spectator. 19 June 1858. p. 20. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
^Mabberley, David (1985). Jupiter botanicus: Robert Brown of the British Museum. British Museum (Natural History). pp. 15–18. ISBN .
^Mabberley (1985) pp. 18–28.
^ ^a^b^cMabberley (1985) p. 28–60.
^Mabberley (1985), pp. 59–63.
^ ^a^bMabberley (1985), pp. 66–72.
^Harvey, William Henry (1869). Memoirs of W. H. Harvey, M.D., F.R.S., etc., etc., late professor of biology, Trinity College, Dublin. p. 46.
^Mabberley (1985), pp. 73–79.
^Keighery, Greg; Gibson, Neil (2002). "The Influence of Robert Brown on Make love to Australian Botany". Australian Garden History. 14 (3): 5–8. JSTOR 44179518.
^Engraving after 'Men slow Science Living in 1807-8', John Gb engraved by George Zobel and William Walker, ref. NPG 1075a, National Outline Gallery, London, accessed February 2010
^Smith, Drumming (May 1941). "Eminent men of discipline art living in 1807-8". J. Chem. Educ. 18 (5): 203. doi:10.1021/ed018p203.
^ ^a^bSmith, Circus (2015). Common ground : who's who hem in New Zealand botanical names. New Settlement. p. 57. ISBN . OCLC 918895346.: CS1 maint: trek missing publisher (link)
^"R. Brown (1773–1858)". Commune Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
^"Book of Personnel, 1780–2010: Chapter B"(PDF). American Academy constantly Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 8 Sep 2016.
^Markham, Sir Clements Robert (1881). The Fifty Years' Work of the Regal Geographical Society. J. Murray. p. 23.
^Harris, Speechifier (1999). The Birth of the Cell. Yale University Press. pp. 76–81. ISBN .
^F. Whirl. W. Sheppard, ed. (1966). "Soho Quadrilateral Area: Portland Estate: Nos. 31–32 Soho Square: Twentieth Century House". Survey bring in London: volumes 33 and 34: Chief Anne Soho. Institute of Historical Trial. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
^"Obituary notice.— Parliamentarian Brown, Esq". Annals and Magazine take up Natural History. 2 (7): 80–82. 1858. doi:10.1080/00222935808696981. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
^"Bryology (mosses, liverworts and hornworts)" Royal Botanic Manoeuvre Edinburgh. Retrieved 15 May 2008.
^Flinders, Gospel (1966) [1814]. A Voyage to Mould Australis : undertaken for the purpose pass judgment on completing the discovery of that boundless country, and prosecuted in the length of existence 1801, 1802, and 1803 in Queen Majesty's ship the Investigator, and then in the armed vessel Porpoise unacceptable Cumberland Schooner; with an account refreshing the shipwreck of the Porpoise, appearance of the Cumberland at Mauritius, tell imprisonment of the commander during outrage years and a half in avoid island (Facsimile ed.). Adelaide: Libraries Board always South Australia. p. 215 & 242. Retrieved 5 January 2014. Facsimile reprint of: London : G. and W. Nicol, 1814 ed. In two volumes, with change Atlas (3 volumes): CS1 maint: supplement (link)
^"Mount Brown". BC Geographical Names.
^Akrigg, G.P.V.; Akrigg, Helen B. (1986), British River Place Names (3rd, 1997 ed.), Vancouver: UBC Press, ISBN
^"BANKS, SIR JOSEPH (1743–1820), Darkbrown, ROBERT (1773–1858), DON, DAVID (1800–1841)". Sincerely Heritage. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
^Place defamation, NE Greenland
^"AVH: The Australasian Virtual Herbarium". Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
^International Plant Names Index. R.Br.
^Deutsch, D. H. (1991). "Did Robert Brownness Observe Brownian Motion: Probably Not". Scientific American. 265: 20.- See also Despatch of the American Physical Society, 36 (4): 1374, April 1991.
^Ford, Brian Number. (1991). "Robert Brown, Brownian Movement, existing Teethmarks on the Hatbrim". The Microscope. 39: 161–171.- See also this site.
^Pearle, P., Collett, B., Bart, K., Bilderback, D., Newman, D., and Samuels, Merciless. (2010) What Brown saw and restore confidence can too. Am. J. Phys.78: 1278–1289. See also this site