Robert Brown (23 March 1842
– 26 October 1895) was a British scientist, explorer, and author.
Biography
Brown was born in
Camster,
Caithness
Caithness (; ; ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Scotland.
There are two towns, being Wick, Caithness, Wick, which was the county town, and Thurso. The count ...
, and studied in the universities of
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
,
Leyden
Leiden ( ; ; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 127,046 (31 January 2023), but the city forms one densely connecte ...
,
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
, and
Rostock
Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...
.
He took the habit of referring to his home town, Campster (''Campsterianus''), to distinguish himself from his famous contemporary of the same name:
Robert Brown of Montrose.
He visited
Spitzbergen
Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it lies about midway between the northern coast o ...
,
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
, and the western shore of
Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay (Inuktitut: ''Saknirutiak Imanga''; ; ; ), located between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland, is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization as a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is sometimes considered a s ...
while still an undergraduate, and subsequently carried on scientific investigations among the islands of the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...
and on the
Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
n,
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
n, and
Bering shores, leading
an expedition to map the interior of
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...
and writing much on the
fauna
Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...
and
flora
Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...
of those countries.
Exploration and travel
Brown arrived at
Fort Victoria in early 1863 to explore the
Colony of Vancouver Island
The Colony of Vancouver Island, officially known as the Island of Vancouver and its Dependencies, was a Crown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with the mainland to form the Colony of British Columbia. ...
. Later that year, he explored from
Barkley Sound
Barkley Sound, also known historically as Barclay Sound, is south of Ucluelet and north of Bamfield on the west coast of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of ...
to
Kyuquot
Kyuquot (pronounced "ky YOO kit") is an unincorporated settlement and First Nations community located on Kyuquot Sound on northwestern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Meaning people of Kayukw in the Nuu-chah-nulth language, it is ...
. The following year he accepted the leadership of the
Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition In 1864 the Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition explored areas of the Colony of Vancouver Island outside the capital of Victoria and settlements in Nanaimo and the Cowichan Valley that were then unknown. The expedition went as far north as the ...
, a venture which covered about 2000 km over four and a half months. The expedition named many of the mountains, rivers and lakes of
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...
.
[ Members of expedition, which included Frederick Whymper as its artist, insisted that Browns River be named after him.] They found gold at the Leech River, causing much excitement, but the results were limited to $60,000. Brown attributed more importance to their discovery of coal in the Comox Valley
The Comox Valley is a region on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, that includes the city of Courtenay, the town of Comox, the village of Cumberland, and the unincorporated settlements of Royston, Union Bay, Fann ...
. He took an interest in Chinook jargon
Chinook Jargon (' or ', also known simply as ''Chinook'' or ''Jargon'') is a language originating as a pidgin language, pidgin trade language in the Pacific Northwest. It spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to othe ...
.
With Edward Whymper
Edward Whymper FRSE (27 April 184016 September 1911) was an English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator, and author best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. Four members of his climbing party were killed during the descent. W ...
, brother of Frederick, he attempted to penetrate the inland ice of Greenland in 1867, and made many discoveries concerning its nature which were later confirmed by Robert Peary
Robert Edwin Peary Sr. (; May 6, 1856 – February 20, 1920) was an American explorer and officer in the United States Navy who made several expeditions to the Arctic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was long credited as being ...
. He traveled in the Barbary States
The Barbary Coast (also Barbary, Berbery, or Berber Coast) were the coastal regions of central and western North Africa, more specifically, the Maghreb and the Ottoman borderlands consisting of the regencies in Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, a ...
of North Africa
North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
, and became the foremost British authority on Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
almost by accident, having gone there for a holiday but having found himself unable to enjoy idleness.
Lecturing and writing
Before he was 30 years old Brown had written over 30 academic papers and an advanced textbook on botany, in addition to more popularising works. He wrote up his Vancouver Island travels and was awarded a doctorate based on this by the University of Rostock in 1869.
He was a lecturer on geology
Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
, botany
Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
, and zoology
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...
in Edinburgh and Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
, and was a member of many learned societies
A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to al ...
in England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, America
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, and on the Continent
A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as ...
. He was president of the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh was a learned society based in Edinburgh, Scotland "for the cultivation of the physical sciences".
The society was founded in 1771 as the Physico-Chirurgical Society but soon after changed its name to the ...
, and a member of the council of the Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
.
Brown moved to London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 1876 and spent the rest of his life writing, earning his living as a journalist. In addition to botany, he also wrote prolifically on zoology, geology, and geography, for both learned and popular audiences. One example of this ability to write for generalists and specialists is the extensive commentary he contributed to an 1896 reprint of the 1807 slave narrative
The slave narrative is a type of literary genre involving the (written) autobiographical accounts of enslaved persons, particularly African diaspora, Africans enslaved in the Americas, though many other examples exist. Over six thousand such narra ...
of John R. Jewitt, in which Brown reflects on the changes in the lives of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
The Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are composed of many nations and tribal affiliations, each with distinctive cultural and political identities. They share certain beliefs, traditions and prac ...
from the time of the first European explorers in the late eighteenth century, to Maquinna
Maquinna (also transliterated Muquinna, Macuina, Maquilla from m̓ukʷina in Nuu-chah-nulth) was the chief of the Nuu-chah-nulth people of Nootka Sound, during the heyday of the maritime fur trade in the 1780s and 1790s on the Pacific Northwest ...
's chiefdom and Jewitt's captivity, to his own explorations in 1863, when intertribal warfare was still rife, to the situation in the mid-1890s, by when many of the nations were on the brink of extinction.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...
, Brown's 1886 book ''Spunyarn and Spindrift, A sailor boy’s log of a voyage out and home in a China tea-clipper'' contains the earliest known usage in print of Gadget
A gadget is a machine, mechanical device or any ingenious article. Gadgets are sometimes referred to as ''wikt:gizmo, gizmos''.
History
The etymology of the word is disputed. The word first appears as reference to an 18th-century tool in Glass ...
.Michael Quinion
Michael Brian Quinion (born ) is a British etymologist and writer. He ran World Wide Words, a website devoted to linguistics. He graduated from Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he studied physical sciences and after which he joined BBC radio as a s ...
:
World Wide Words: Gadget
' (accessed 6 February 2008) Also in: Michael Quinion: ''Port Out, Starboard Home: The Fascinating Stories We Tell About the Words We Use''.
Brown had been a strong, confident, fun-loving young man, but worked too hard, and was both incapable of relaxing and at the same time exhausted by London life. He grew jaded that his best work went unrecognised, and died 26 October 1895, only 53 years old, working to the night of his death as a writer. He was buried at West Norwood Cemetery
West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery.
One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of ...
.
Publications
In addition to many scientific papers, articles, and reviews in various languages, his publications included:
''Manual of Botany''
(1874)
* ''Science for All'' (five volumes, 1877–82)
* ''The World Its Cities And Peoples'' (volumes IV-IX, 1882–85)
* ''Spunyarn and spindrift: a sailor boy's log of a voyage out and home in a china tea-clipper'' (1886)
* ''The Story of Africa and Its Explorers''
four volumes, 1892–95
new edition, 1911
* ''The adventures of John Jewitt : only survivor of the crew of the ship Boston during a captivity of nearly three years among the Indians of Nootka Sound in Vancouver Island (1896)'' reprint with notes and 30-page introduction by Robert Brown a
Internet Archive
References
Sources
*
*
Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* A four-page description of his life and work, by an "A.J.W.", as preface to ''The adventures of John Jewitt'', a memoir to which Brown had contributed extensive commentary. Also includes a photographic portrait of him in 1870. Full text a
Internet Archive
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Robert
Scottish explorers
Scottish science writers
1842 births
1895 deaths
Botanists active in North America
Scottish explorers of North America
Explorers of British Columbia
History of Vancouver Island
Pre-Confederation British Columbia people
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Leiden University alumni
University of Copenhagen alumni
University of Rostock alumni
People from Caithness
Burials at West Norwood Cemetery
19th-century British explorers
19th-century Scottish botanists