Samuel Brewer (1670–1743), was an English

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 ...

and contemporary of Dr. Richard Richardson. He is credited with discovering certain species of plant.

Life

Brewer was a native of

Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England, on the River Biss in the west of the county. It is near the border with Somerset and lies southeast of Bath, 31 miles (49 km) southwest of Swindon and 20 miles (32 km) southeas ...

in Wiltshire, where he possessed a small estate, and was engaged in the woolen manufacture, but seems to have been unsuccessful in business. He communicated some plants to

Dillenius Johann Jacob Dillen Dillenius (1684 – 2 April 1747) was a German botanist. He is known for his ''Hortus Elthamensis'' ("Eltham Garden") on the rare plants around Eltham, London, and for his ''Historia muscorum'' ("History of Mosses"), a natu ...

for the third edition of John Ray's ''Synopsis'', published in 1724, and accompanied the editor in 1726 from Trowbridge to the Mendips, and from there to

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 ...

, passing onward to

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

and

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

. Brewer remained in Bangor for more than a year, botanising with Rev. W. Green and W. Jones, and sending dried plants to Dillenius, particularly

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

es, thus clearing up many doubtful points.

Yorkshire

In the autumn of 1727 he went to

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, living at

Bingley Bingley is a market town and civil parish in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, which had a population of 18,294 at the 2011 Census. Bingley railwa ...

, and afterwards at Bierley, near Dr. Richard Richardson, who befriended him. The loss of £20,000 of his own earnings, and of a large estate left to him by his father, which was taken by his elder brother, gave a morbid tone to his letters: the editor of Richardson's correspondence says of them: "The same unhappy tone of mind and the same botanical zeal, run through all." Brewer's son was sent to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

through the influence of Dr.

James Sherard James Sherard (1 November 1666 – 12 February 1738) was an English apothecary, botanist, and amateur musician. Career He was born in Bushby, Leicestershire to George and Mary Sherwood; it is unknown why his surname was changed. His older brothe ...

of Eltham, but the father quarrelled with the doctor in 1731 about some plants. His daughter also seems to have acted 'undutifully' towards him. He had a small house and garden at Bierley, and devoted himself to the culture of plants. Afterwards he became head-gardener to the Duke of Beaufort at

Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

. He died at Bierley, at Mr. John Pollard's house where he was buried close to the east wall of Cleckheaton chapel. Although unfortunate in business, he was a good collector of plants, insects, and birds; the botanical genus ''

Breweria ''Bonamia'' is a genus of the flowering plant family Convolvulaceae Convolvulaceae (), commonly called the bindweeds or morning glories, is a family of about 60 genera and more than 1,650 species. These species are primarily herbaceous vi ...

'' was founded by Robert Brown in his honour, and a species of rock-rose, a native of North Wales, discovered by him, bears the name of ''Helianthemum breweri''.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewer, Samuel 1670 births 1743 deaths 17th-century English botanists People from Trowbridge 18th-century British botanists