Henry James Brooke (1771–1857) was an English crystallographer.

Life

Brooke was the son of a broadcloth manufacturer, born in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

on 25 May 1771. He studied for the bar, but went into business in the Spanish wool trade, South American mining companies, and the London Life Assurance Association successively. Brooke's hobbies were mineralogy, geology, and botany. His large collections of shells and of minerals were presented to the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, while a portion of his collection of engravings was given by him to the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. He was elected a

Fellow of the Geological Society The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

in 1815,

Fellow of the Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

in 1818,

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 science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1819, and a Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 1825. . He discovered thirteen new mineral species. Brooke died at Clapham Rise on 26 June 1857 and was buried at

West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of L ...

. The surgeon Charles Brooke was his son.

Works

Brooke published a ''Familiar Introduction to Crystallography'', London, 1823; and contributed the articles on "Crystallography" and "Mineralogy" in the ''

Encyclopædia Metropolitana ''The Encyclopædia Metropolitana'' was an encyclopedic work published in London, from 1817 to 1845, by part publication. In all it came to quarto, 30 vols., having been issued in 59 parts (22,426 pages, 565 plates). Origins Initially the proje ...

'', in which he first introduced six primary crystalline systems.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooke, Henry James 1771 births 1857 deaths 18th-century English scientists British crystallographers Businesspeople from Exeter Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Geological Society of London English non-fiction writers 19th-century English non-fiction writers Fellows of the Linnean Society of London Burials at West Norwood Cemetery English male non-fiction writers Scientists from Exeter

Life

Works

See also

References