Henry Gawler (1766-1852) and his brother John Bellenden Ker (1765-1842) holding a portfolio, as children with their dog by Henry Bone

Curtis's botanical magazine (Plate 1462) (8246940493)

John Bellenden Ker, originally John Gawler, was an English botanist born about 1764 in Ramridge, Andover, Hampshire and died in June 1842 in the same town. On 5 November 1804 he changed his name to Ker Bellenden, but continued to sign his name as Bellenden Ker until his death. He was an unsuccessful claimant to the Roxburghe dukedom. His son was the legal reformer

Charles Henry Bellenden Ker Charles Henry Bellenden Ker (c.1785–1871) was an English barrister and legal reformer. Early life The son of John Bellenden Ker, he was born about 1785. As a young man, he was a patron of William Blake, though unwilling when it came to paymen ...

. He is noted for having written ''Recensio Plantarum'' (1801), ''Select Orchideae'' (c. 1816) and ''Iridearum Genera'' (1827). He contributed to Curtis's Botanical Magazine under John Sims, using the initial G. He edited

Edward's Botanical Register ''The Botanical Register'', subsequently known as ''Edwards's Botanical Register'', was an illustrated horticultural magazine that ran from 1815 to 1847. It was started by the botanical illustrator Sydenham Edwards, who had previously illustra ...

from 1815 to 1824 and was famous as a wit and botanist as well as being the author of ''Archaeology of Popular Phrases and Nursery Rhymes'' (1837). The 2nd volume of this work was published in 1840. Robert Brown (1773–1858) named the genus ''

Bellendena ''Bellendena montana'', commonly known as mountain rocket, is a species of low-growing multi-stemmed shrub in the plant family Proteaceae. It is endemic to high-altitude subalpine and alpine regions in Tasmania, Australia. The prominent white flo ...

'' of the

Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order Pro ...

in his honour in 1810. The state of Queensland in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

has named its second highest peak Mount Bellenden Ker. The

Bellenden Ker Range The Bellenden Ker Range, also known as the Wooroonooran Range is a coastal mountain range in Far North Queensland, Australia. Part of the Great Dividing Range it is located between Gordonvale and Babinda. The whole of the range falls within t ...

in the same area was also named after him. His work on English

nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From t ...

s argued in four volumes that they were actually written in "Low Saxon", a hypothetical early form of Dutch. He then "translated" them back into English, revealing particularly a strong tendency to

anti-clericalism Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

.H. Carpenter and M. Prichard, ''The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature'' (Oxford University Press, 1984), p. 290.

Notes

Sources

*Ray Desmond (1994). ''Dictionary of British and Irish Botanists and Horticulturists including Plant Collectors, Flower Painters and Garden Designers''. Taylor & Francis and The Natural History Museum (London). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ker Gawler, John Bellenden 1764 births 1842 deaths British botanists