Rev Theophilus Houlbrooke

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 ...

LLB (1745–1824) was a British minister remembered mainly as an amateur botanist. He served as President of the

Liverpool Athenaeum The Athenaeum is a private members club in Liverpool, England. The club was founded to ensure the up-to-date provision of newspapers and pamphlets, and to create a library for the use of the merchants and professional men in the city. The ori ...

from 1809 until 1813.

Life

He was born in

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

in 1745. He was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into ...

. He trained as a minister at

Cambridge University , 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 ...

graduating LLB and was Ordained as a Deacon in

Lincoln Cathedral Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln Minster, or the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln and sometimes St Mary's Cathedral, in Lincoln, England, is a Grade I listed cathedral and is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Lincoln. Construc ...

in 1769, whilst also serving of Curate of the nearby church in

Little Coates Little Coates is an area of western Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, England. It is in the Yarborough ward of the North East Lincolnshire Unitary Council. History Little Coates was already inhabited at the time of the Norman conquest. By 1861 ...

. From 1770 until 1784 he served as rector of the church in

Stockton-on-Teme Stockton on Teme is a village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District in the county of Worcestershire, England. It is close to the River Teme and is noted for its 12th century Norman church with an unusual circular graveyardphoto. The c ...

. Around 1785 he left 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 Brit ...

to join the Unitarians. In 1792 he was elected 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 ...

for his contributions to botany. His proposers were

Sir James Hall Sir James Hall of Dunglass, 4th Baronet FRS FRSE (17 January 1761 – 23 June 1832) was a Scottish geologist and geophysicist. He was a Member of Parliament for St. Michael's borough (Mitchell, Cornwall) 1807–1812. Education Hall was born at Du ...

John Playfair John Playfair FRSE, FRS (10 March 1748 – 20 July 1819) was a Church of Scotland minister, remembered as a scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He is best known for his book ''Illu ...

and

Andrew Coventry Andrew Coventry FRSE (1762–1830) was a Scottish agriculturist. He was the first Professor of Agriculture in Great Britain. Life Andrew Coventry, born in February 1762, was eldest son of Rev George Coventry, minister of Stitchell in Roxburghsh ...

. In 1802 he was an invited guest at the opening of the new Botanic Garden in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

under the Presidency of

William Roscoe William Roscoe (8 March 175330 June 1831) was an English banker, lawyer, and briefly a Member of Parliament. He is best known as one of England's first abolitionists, and as the author of the poem for children ''The Butterfly's Ball, and the G ...

. He was placed on the Committee alongside other illustrious persons such as James Currie FRS. His will, of January 1824, is held by the National Archive at Kew.

References

1745 births 1824 deaths People from Lichfield Alumni of the University of Cambridge British botanists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 18th-century English Anglican priests English Unitarian ministers {{England-scientist-stub