Leopold Hartley Grindon (28 March 1818 – 20 November 1904) was an English educator and botanist, and a pioneer in

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...

. His plant collection and botanical drawings and writings formed a major asset of the herbarium at Manchester Museum, when it was founded in 1860.

Early life

Leopold Hartley Grindon was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

on 28 March 1818 and educated at Bristol College. He established the Bristol Philobotanical Society while still at school. He moved to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

at the age of 20, spending a year as an apprentice in a warehouse before becoming a cashier for John Whittaker & Company's cotton business until 1864.

Botany

Grindon, whose father was a solicitor and

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

, showed an early interest in

botany 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 w ...

and was self-taught in other areas of science, such as astronomy and geology. At the age of 13, he started collecting dried plants and by 18 he envisaged creating a herbarium of all the cultivated and wild plants found in Britain. He grew many specimens from seed and collected writings and drawings, particularly of plants that were difficult to grow or obtain in specimen form. As he put it, "I desired also to introduce every bit of printed matter referring to the plant that might come in my way, with descriptions alike of the individual species and of the Natural Orders, the uses and other particulars also have a place and seeing that Botany is wreathed also with all kinds of poetical and other human associations, everything that would illustrate these was also to go into the Herbarium so-called, which thus to be a Herbarium and a Botanical library fused into one." In 1860, Grindon and a

calico printer Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain weave, plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse an ...

, Joseph Sidebotham, founded the Manchester Field-Naturalists' Society. He attended the Mechanics' Institute and was appointed to lecture on botany at the

Manchester Royal School of Medicine The Manchester Royal School of Medicine (also known as the Manchester Royal School of Medicine and Surgery and as Pine Street School) has its origins in a medical teaching establishment opened on Pine Street, Manchester, England, by Thomas Turner ...

, while offering private tuition in the subject.

Death

Grindon moved to Manchester, living initially in

Portland Street Portland Street is a popular street in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The street is known for its business and retailing skyscraper complex Langham Place, numerous restaurants and its red-light district. Geography Running north-south and parallel to (an ...

, then in Romford Street for 30 years. In 1883 he moved to Cecil Street in Greenheys, where he died aged 87 in 1904. He married Rosa Elverson, a sympathiser with the

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

movement and lecturer at local institutions such as the Manchester Geographical Society and the Manchester Working Men's Clubs Association. She outlived him and donated a large stained-glass window to Manchester Central Library in his memory. The window, designed by Robert Anning Bell, is above the entrance to the library's Shakespeare Hall.

Publications

Among Grindon's publications, many written while still employed as a cashier, are: * *''Manchester Walks and Wild Flowers'' (1858) * * * * * *''The Fairfield Orchids'' (1872) * *''History of the Rhododendron'' (1876) * * * * * Grindon also contributed to many journals and to the ''

Manchester City News ''Manchester City News'' was a weekly local newspaper founded in Manchester, England. Published every Saturday, the first edition went on sale on 2 January 1864, priced at one penny. The newspaper was circulated not only in Manchester and neighbo ...

'', and wrote works unconnected with botany, such as ''Manchester Banks and Bankers'' (1877) and ''A History of Lancashire'' (1882).

References

External links