Robert Waring Darwin of Elston
Encyclopedia
Robert Waring Darwin of Elston Hall was an English botanist.
He was the son of Robert Darwin of Elston
(1682-1754), a lawyer, and his wife Elizabeth Hill (1702-1797). His youngest brother was Erasmus Darwin
(1731-1802), the poet, philosopher, and physician. He never married and had no children, but his nephew Dr Robert Waring Darwin, son of Erasmus and father of Charles Darwin
, took his name, and the two should not be confused.
In 1787 he published Principia Botanica (full title: Principia Botanica or, a Concise and Easy Introduction to the Sexual Botany of Linnaeus), in 1787, an introduction to the Linnean system of taxonomy. His famous great-nephew Charles notes, in his autobiography
:
He was the son of Robert Darwin of Elston
Elston
Elston is a small village in Nottinghamshire to the southwest of Newark, and a mile from the A46 Fosse Way. The parish of Elston lies between the rivers Trent and Devon, with "the village itself set amongst trees and farmland less than a mile from the A46...
(1682-1754), a lawyer, and his wife Elizabeth Hill (1702-1797). His youngest brother was Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin was an English physician who turned down George III's invitation to be a physician to the King. One of the key thinkers of the Midlands Enlightenment, he was also a natural philosopher, physiologist, slave trade abolitionist,inventor and poet...
(1731-1802), the poet, philosopher, and physician. He never married and had no children, but his nephew Dr Robert Waring Darwin, son of Erasmus and father of Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, took his name, and the two should not be confused.
In 1787 he published Principia Botanica (full title: Principia Botanica or, a Concise and Easy Introduction to the Sexual Botany of Linnaeus), in 1787, an introduction to the Linnean system of taxonomy. His famous great-nephew Charles notes, in his autobiography
The Autobiography of Charles Darwin
The Autobiography of Charles Darwin is the autobiography of the British naturalist Charles Darwin which was published in 1887, five years after his death....
:
The eldest son of Robert, christened Robert Waring, succeeded to the estate of Elston, and died there at the age of ninety-two, a bachelor. He had a strong taste for poetry, like his youngest brother Erasmus, as I infer from the later having dedicated an MS.ManuscriptA manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
volume of juvenile poemsJuvenaliaIn classical antiquity, the Juvenalia, or Ludi Juvenales , were scenic games instituted by Nero in C.E 59, at the age of 21, in commemoration of his shaving his beard for the first time, thus indicating that he had passed from youth into manhood...
to him, with the words, "By whose example and encouragement my mind was directed to the study of poetry in my very early years". The two brothers also corresponded together in verse. Robert also cultivated botany, and, when an oldish man, he published his Principia Botanica. This book in MS. was beautifully written, and my father [Dr. R.W. Darwin] declared that he believed it was published because his old uncle could not endure that such fine calligraphy should be wasted. But this was hardly just, as the work contains many curious notes on biology — a subject wholly neglected in England in the last century. The public, moreover, appreciated the book, as the copy in my possession is the third edition.