Dawson Turner (18 October 1775 – 21 June 1858) was an English
banker
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Becaus ...
,
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
and
antiquary
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic si ...
. He specialized in the botany of
cryptogams
A cryptogam (scientific name Cryptogamae) is a plant (in the wide sense of the word) or a plant-like organism that reproduces by spores, without flowers or seeds. The name ''Cryptogamae'' () means "hidden reproduction", referring to the fact ...
and was the father-in-law of the botanist
William Jackson Hooker
Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew h ...
.
Life
Turner was the son of James Turner, head of the Gurney and Turner's Yarmouth Bank
[; see also: ] and Elizabeth Cotman, the only daughter of the mayor of
Yarmouth, John Cotman. He was educated at North Walsham Grammar School (now
Paston College
;"Better to better everywhere"
, established =
, type = Sixth form college
, religious_affiliation =
, head_label = Principal
, head = Corrienne Peasgood
, chair_label =
, chair =
, founder = Sir ...
), Norfolk and at Barton Bendish as a pupil of the botanist
Robert Forby. He then went to Pembroke College, Cambridge, where the Master was his uncle Rev. Joseph Turner. He however left without a degree due to his father's terminal illness. In 1796, he joined his father's bank.
After becoming a banker, he took a more intensive interest in botany in leisure time, collecting specimens in the field. In 1794, Turner offered to help
James Sowerby
James Sowerby (21 March 1757 – 25 October 1822) was an English naturalist, illustrator and mineralogist. Contributions to published works, such as ''A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland'' or ''English Botany'', include his detailed and app ...
with specimens. Turner published a number of books and collaborated with other botanists. In December 1802, he was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...
. In 1816, he was elected a foreign member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for prom ...
.
Through his first wife Mary, he met Captain
George Manby
Captain George William Manby FRS (28 November 1765 – 18 November 1854) was an English author and inventor. He designed an apparatus for saving life from shipwrecks and also the first modern form of fire extinguisher.
Early life
Manby was bo ...
, amateur artist, inventor and barrack-master of Yarmouth. They corresponded frequently over the next 50 years.
By 1820, his interest in botany had been replaced by an interest in antiquities. He and his children were taught drawing by renowned
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...
artist
John Sell Cotman
John Sell Cotman (16 May 1782 – 24 July 1842) was an English marine and landscape painter, etcher, illustrator, author and a leading member of the Norwich School of painters.
Born in Norwich, the son of a silk merchant and lace dealer, C ...
who became a good friend. They travelled to Normandy together and collaborated on a book, ''Architectural Antiquities of Normandy'', published in 1822, with Cotman providing the etchings.
Turner died in 1858 and is buried in
Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Establ ...
, London.
Bibliography
Among the published works of Dawson Turner are:
[For an extended bibliography see: ]
* ''Synopsis of British Fuci'' 1802
* ''Muscologia Hibernicae Spicilegium'' (Irish Moss Ferns) 1804
* ''Botanist's Guide through England and Wales'' with
Weston Dillwyn 1805
* ''Annals of Botany'' - nine articles 1800-1808
Family
In 1796, the year he joined his father's bank, Turner married
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
(1774–17 March 1850),
the daughter of William Palgrave of Norfolk. She became a notable portrait artist under her married name Mary Dawson Turner and 78 of her drawings (as
etching
Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...
s) are in the possession of the
National Portrait Gallery in London. The couple had 11 children:
* Maria Dawson Turner (1797–1872), married
William Jackson Hooker
Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew h ...
, botanist; their son was
Joseph Dalton Hooker
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For twenty years he served as director of ...
, also a botanist.
* Elizabeth Turner (1799–1852), married
Francis Palgrave (né Cohen), historian, who took the name Palgrave upon conversion to Christianity.
* Dawson Turner (1801 – 1806)
* Mary Anne Turner (1803 – 1874)
* Harriet Turner (1806–1869), married in 1830
John Gunn, clergyman and naturalist.
* Hannah Sarah Turner (1808 – ), married in 1839 Thomas Brightwen.
* Dawson Turner (1809 – 1809)
* Katherine Turner (1810 – 1811)
* Eleanor Jane Turner (1811–1895), the youngest daughter, married
William Jacobson
William Jacobson (18 July 1803 – 13 July 1884) was Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University (1848–1865) and Bishop of Chester (1865–1884).
Life
The son of William Jacobson, a merchant's clerk, of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, b ...
, divine.
* Gurney Turner (1813 – 1848), whose son
Dawson Turner played in the first international rugby match in 1871
* Dawson William Turner (1815-1885), educationalist.
By his first wife, Turner was father-in-law of Sir
William Jackson Hooker
Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew h ...
, FRS and of Sir
Francis Palgrave, FRS and the grandfather of Sir
Joseph Dalton Hooker
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For twenty years he served as director of ...
, FRS and Sir
Robert Harry Inglis Palgrave, FRS.
After his first wife's death in 1850, he married Rosamund Matilda Duff (d. 1863) at
Gretna Green
Gretna Green is a parish in the southern council area of Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, on the Scottish side of the border between Scotland and England, defined by the small river Sark, which flows into the nearby Solway Firth. It was histo ...
, the marriage being disapproved of by his family and banking partners he left Yarmouth and moved to Barnes, and in 1853 retired to Lee Cottage, Old Brompton where he lived until his death. Turner's collections were sold off in auction by Sotheby in 1853 earning £4563 15s and another part in 1859 for £6558 9s.
References
External links
* A Synopsis of the British Fuc
Volume 1Volume 2
Muscologia Hibernicae Spicilegium
*Botanist's Guide through England and Wale
Volume 1Volume 2
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Dawson
1775 births
1858 deaths
People from Great Yarmouth
English bankers
English botanists
Burials at Brompton Cemetery
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Fellows of the Royal Society
People educated at Paston College