Edward William Brayley
FRS (1801 – 1 February 1870) was an English
geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
, librarian, and science author.
Early life
Brayley was born in London, the son of
Edward Wedlake Brayley
Edward Wedlake Brayley (177323 September 1854) was an English historian and topographer. Brayley collaborated with his life-long friend, John Britton, on the first 6 volumes of ''The Beauties of England and Wales''.
Early life
Brayley was ...
, a notable
antiquary, and his wife Anne (''c.'' 1771–1850). His early schooling, in the company of his brothers Henry and Horatio was private and sheltered. His upbringing was austere with little contact with other children or the world outside his home. He later studied at the
London Institution
The London Institution was an educational institution founded in London in 1806 (not to be confused with the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom founded the previous year, with which it shared some founders). It ...
and the
Royal Institution under
William Thomas Brande
William Thomas Brande FRS FRSE (11 January 178811 February 1866) was an English chemist.
Biography
Brande was born in Arlington Street, London, England, the youngest son of six children to Augustus Everard Brande an apothecary, originally fr ...
.
[Hays (2004)]
Brayley abandoned an early inclination to follow his father's interests for science. He published on diverse topics in several
scientific journals including the ''
Philosophical Magazine
The ''Philosophical Magazine'' is one of the oldest scientific journals published in English. It was established by Alexander Tilloch in 1798;John Burnett"Tilloch, Alexander (1759–1825)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford Univer ...
'', for which he became an editorial assistant between 1823 and 1844. In 1829 and 1830, Brayley was employed by
Rowland Hill
Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his soluti ...
to lecture on the
physical science
Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences".
Definition
Phy ...
s at his schools as Hazelwood,
Edgbaston
Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre.
In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family a ...
, Birmingham and
Bruce Castle
Bruce Castle (formerly the Lordship House) is a Grade I listed 16th-century manor house in Lordship Lane, Tottenham, London. It is named after the House of Bruce who formerly owned the land on which it is built. Believed to stand on the site ...
,
Tottenham
Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Wal ...
, London.
Librarian and lecturer
In 1834, he became librarian of the London Institution and in 1865 professor of
physical geography
Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, ...
. He lectured there on diverse subjects and also at the
Royal Institution, the
London Mechanics' Institute, and the
Belgrave Belgrave may refer to:
Places
*Belgrave, Cheshire, an English village
*Belgrave, Leicester an English district
*Belgrave, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia
** Belgrave railway line
**Belgrave railway station, Melbourne
**Belgrave (Puffing ...
,
Russell, and
Marylebone Institutions. As a staff member of the London Institution he was often called on at the last minute to substitute for an indisposed lecturer and his talks included:
*
Meteor
A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space.
Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as mi ...
s and
meteorology
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...
;
*
Mineralogy;
*Physical geography;
*
Peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficient ...
;
*"Metalliferous deposits";
*"Recent
eclipses";
*"
Lord Rosse's telescopes";
*"Hall's condensing apparatus";
*The remains at
Pompeii; and
*
Photogenic drawing.
Editor
Most of his scientific work involved the analysis and synthesis of the published ideas of others. Brayley worked on the publication of
Samuel Parkes's ''Chemical Catechism'' (1834) and contributed many biographical and scientific articles to the ''
English Cyclopaedia
The ''English Cyclopaedia: A new dictionary of universal knowledge'' (London, 1854–1862, 4to, 23 vols., 12,117 pages; supplements, 1869–1873, 4 vols., 2858 pages), was published by Charles Knight, based on the ''Penny Cyclopaedia'', of which ...
''. Brayley was a close collaborator and friend of
William Robert Grove
Sir William Robert Grove, FRS FRSE (11 July 1811 – 1 August 1896) was a Welsh judge and physical scientist. He anticipated the general theory of the conservation of energy, and was a pioneer of fuel cell technology. He invented the Grove vo ...
and notably worked with him on the publication of Groves's seminal book on the
conservation of energy, ''On the Correlation of Physical Forces'' (1846). He also assisted in the editing of
Luke Howard
Luke Howard, (28 November 1772 – 21 March 1864) was a British manufacturing chemist and an amateur meteorologist with broad interests in science. His lasting contribution to science is a nomenclature system for clouds, which he proposed i ...
's ''Barometrographia'' (1847).
Marriage and family
He married on 9 August 1832 to Judith May (1800–1869), the daughter of Richard May, a portrait painter. She was the widow of James Hodgetts (d1830), and his step-son James Frederick Hodgetts (1828–1906) lived with them while growing up. Edward prepared him in a scientific career, which did not suit him and he joined the Indian Navy and later was a Prof. of seamanship in Berlin and St. Petersburg.
Offices and honours
*Founder member of the
Zoological Society;
*Founder member of the
Chemical Society
The Chemical Society was a scientific society formed in 1841 (then named the Chemical Society of London) by 77 scientists as a result of increased interest in scientific matters. Chemist Robert Warington was the driving force behind its creation.
...
;
*Corresponding member of the ''
Societas Naturae Scrutatorum
Consensu or obligatio consensu or obligatio consensu contracta or obligations ex consensuGeorge Bowyer, ''Commentaries on the Modern Civil Law'' (London: V & R Stevens and G S Norton, 1848), chapter 26p 201 or contractus ex consensu or contracts co ...
'' at
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
;
*Member of the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
;
*Member of the
London Electrical Society The London Electrical Society was established in 1837 to enable amateur electricians to meet and share their interests in “experimental investigation of Electrical Science in all its various branches”. Although it initially flourished the societ ...
*Member of the
British Meteorological Society, (1850);
*
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 mathemat ...
, (1854);
*The
lunar crater
Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, all of which were formed by impacts. The International Astronomical Union currently recognizes 9,137 craters, of which 1,675 have been dated.
History
The wor ...
Brayley is named for him;
*
Ferdinand von Mueller named the Australian rainforest tree, ''
Flindersia brayleyana
''Flindersia brayleyana'', commonly known as Queensland maple, maple silkwood or red beech, is a species of tree in the family Rutaceae and is Endemism, endemic to northern Queensland. It has Pinnation, pinnate leaves with between six and ten l ...
'' in his honour.
References
Bibliography
* ''The 1850 and 1851 Membership Lists of the British Meteorological Society''
----
*
*
*Hays, J. N. (2004)
Brayley, Edward William (1801/2–1870), ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', Oxford University Press, accessed 8 August 2007 (subscription required)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brayley, Edward William
1801 births
1870 deaths
English geographers
English non-fiction writers
Fellows of the Royal Society
English librarians
Writers from London
Academics of Birkbeck, University of London
English male non-fiction writers
19th-century English non-fiction writers
19th-century English male writers
19th-century geographers