The grave of Robert Kaye Greville, Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh

Dr. Robert Kaye Greville

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FLS LLD (13 December 1794 – 4 June 1866) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their genetics, genetic and biochemistry, biochemical properties, their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and ethnomycology, their use to humans, including as a so ...

, bryologist, and

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 ...

. He was an accomplished artist and illustrator of natural history. In addition to art and science he was interested in causes like

abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

, capital punishment, keeping Sunday special and the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

. He has a mountain in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

named after him.

Biography

Greville was born at

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

, but was brought up in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

by his parents Dorothy ( Chaloner) and Robert Greville. His father who liked to compose was the rector of the parish church in Edlaston in Derbyshire. Greville had an interest in natural history since he was very young, but he originally studied medicine. Realising that he did not need an income he discarded four years of medical education in London and Edinburgh and decided to concentrated on botany which had been a strong interest when he was a boy. Greville married

William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland, PC (Ire), FRS (3 April 174528 May 1814) was a British diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1774 to 1793. Early life A member of the influential Eden family, Auckland was a younger son ...

's niece Charlotte Eden in 1816. In 1823 he began the illustration and publishing of the journal ''Scottish cryptogamic flora'' which he dedicated to his friend Hooker. In the following year he published his guide to the flora of Edinburgh, "Flora Edinensis".. Partially as a result of these publications Greville was awarded a doctorate by the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

in 1826.Obituary
accessed 5 August 2008 He gave a large number of lectures in the natural sciences and built up collections that were bought by the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. His specimens of plants and fungi are now held in the

Herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sheet of paper (called ...

of the

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) is a scientific centre for the study of plants, their diversity and conservation, as well as a popular tourist attraction. Founded in 1670 as a physic garden to grow medicinal plants, today it occupies ...

. At some point in late 1826 or early in 1827, he took a boat trip to the

Isle of May The Isle of May is located in the north of the outer Firth of Forth, approximately off the coast of mainland Scotland. It is about long and wide. The island is owned and managed by NatureScot as a national nature reserve. There are now no ...

with two students, William Ainsworth and

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

. To their amusement, this "eminent

cryptogam 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 ...

ist" laughed so much at screeching seabirds that he had to "lie down on the greensward to enjoy his prolonged cachinnation."Bettany, G. T. (1887) ''Life of Charles Darwin''. London: Walter Scott, pp
22–23
also In 1828 he received an honour when Mount Greville in

was named in Greville's honour by a fellow botanist, Allan Cunningham. Mount Greville became part of an Australian National park in 1948 and is now part of

Moogerah Peaks National Park Moogerah Peaks is a National Park in the Fassifern Valley of South East Queensland, Australia, located approximately 70 km south west of the state capital Brisbane. The 676-hectare park consists of four separate protected areas which surro ...

. The aboriginal name for Mount Greville and the area around it (including

Cunninghams Gap Cunninghams Gap is a pass over the Great Dividing Range between the Darling Downs and the Fassifern Valley in Queensland, Australia. The Gap is the major route over the Main Range National Park, Main Range along the Great Dividing Range, between ...

) is Moogerah which gave its name to the Park.Moogerah Peaks National Park
at Queensland site. In the 1830s he is listed as living at 1 Wharton Place in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

In 1835 Greville published some piano music for a sacred melody written by Rev. W. H. Bathurst. In 1839–40 he served as President of the

Botanical Society of Edinburgh The Botanical Society of Scotland (BSS) is the national learned society for botanists of Scotland. The Society's aims are to advance knowledge and appreciation of flowering and cryptogamic plants, algae and fungi. The Society's activities includ ...

for the first time.Darwin Project biography
, accessed 5 August 2008 In addition to science he was interested in political causes like abolitionism, capital punishment, keeping Sunday special and the

. In 1840, Greville was one of the four vice-presidents at the

World's Anti-Slavery Convention The World Anti-Slavery Convention met for the first time at Exeter Hall in London, on 12–23 June 1840. It was organised by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, largely on the initiative of the English Quaker Joseph Sturge. The exclus ...

at Freemason's Hall in London on 12 June 1840. The picture above shows him in a detail from a painting made to commemorate the event which attracted delegates from America, France, Haiti, Australia, Ireland, Jamaica and Barbados. The painting now hangs in the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

in London. Greville was a member of a number of learned societies including being honorary secretary of the Biological Society and a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. He was an honorary member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

and the Howard Society The Punishment of Death
Society for the Diffusion of Information on the Subject of Capital Punishments, 1837 as well as being a corresponding member of natural history societies including

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. He was secretary of the Sabbath Alliance and a compiler of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

's 1838 hymn book. Towards the end of his life he created landscape paintings which were exhibited. He became a professional artist as he was short of money. In 1865–66 Greville served as President of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh for the second and last time. He died at his home, Ormelie Villa, in

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often conside ...

, Edinburgh on 4 June 1866 whilst still taking an active interest in his work having new papers in preparation for publication. He is buried in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

on the west side of

. The grave lies in the westmost of the two central southern sections.

Family

He married Charlotte Eden on 17 October 1816 in

. Robert Kaye Greville and Charlotte Greville (née Eden) had 3 sons, Robert Northmore Greville, Eden Kaye Greville and Chaloner Greville and three daughters. Charlotte Dorothea Greville married the Rev. David Hogarth on 3 April 1857.

Journals

* ''Flora Edinensis'' (1824) * ''Tentamen methodi Muscorum'' (1822–1826)
''Icones filicum'' or ''Figures and Descriptions of Ferns''
(1830) (with Sir W. J. Hooker) * ''Scottish cryptogamic flora'' (1822–1828) * ''Algae britannicae'' (1830) * ''Facts illustrative of the drunkenness of Scotland with observations on the responsibility of the clergy, magistrates, and other influential bodies'' (1834)Bio of R.K.Greville
Archives Hub, accessed 5 August 2008 * ''Slavery and the slave trade in the United States of America; and the extent to which the American churches are involved in their support''., 1845, Edinburgh * ''The Amethyst'', a Christian annual co-written with Dr Richard Huie 1831 onwards

Botanical reference

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greville, Robert Kaye 1794 births 1866 deaths Scottish botanists Scottish mycologists Scottish abolitionists Scottish temperance activists Burials at the Dean Cemetery Bryologists Scottish illustrators Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Natural history illustrators 19th-century biologists 19th-century Scottish people People from Bishop Auckland Alumni of the University of Edinburgh