Brown, Robert (1773-1858)

Brown, Robert

BOTANIST, PALEOBOTANIST (SCOTLAND)

BORN 21 Dec 1773, Montrose, Angus - DIED 10 Jun 1858, London: 17 Dean Street, Soho Square
GRAVE LOCATION London: Kensal Green Cemetery, Harrow Road, Kensal Green (050/PS (14583))

Robert Browne was a pioneer in using the microscope for botany. He was the son of James Brown (c.1734-1791), who was a minister in the Scottish Episcopal Church with Jacobite sympathies. Robert was educated at Marischal College at Aberdeen but he left it when the family moved to Edinburgh in 1790. He studied medicine at Edinburgh University, but he spent more time on botany than on medicine. He collected plants and corresponded with the leading botanist William Withering (1741-1799). In 1793 he abandoned his medical studies. He joined a military regiment in Scotland where he was still able to spend much of his time on botany. By 1800 he was a well-known botanist with an international network.

In 1800 he boarded the HMS Investigator to join an expedition to Australia led by captain Matthew Flinders (1774-1814). They arrived in Australia in 1801 and he remained there until 1805, collecting a huge number of species. After his return he spent five years processing his material. In 1809 he presented his paper "On the natural order of plants called Proteaceae" to the Linnean Society of London and his account of the Australian flora was published in 1810 as "Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen". In the same year he succeeded Jonas Dryander as the librarian of Sir Joseph Banks, the president of the Royal Society.

In 1831 he presented a paper in which he treated the cell nucleus and gave it its name. In 1837 he became the first Keeper of the Botanical Department of the British Museum and he held this post until his death. In 1839 he was awarded the Copley Medal by the Royal Society. From 1849 to 1853 he was the president of the Linnean Society of London. He never married and he died at Soho Square in London in 1858.

Related persons
• was a friend of Welwitsch, Friedrich

Images
Plaque for Joseph Banks, Robert Brown and David Don at 32 Soho Square in London. Picture by Androom (07 Nov 2025)	The grave of Robert Brown at Kensal Green Cemetery in London. Picture by Androom (29 May 2026)