Robert Brown of Brownian Motion
- Name : Brown
- Born : 1773
- Died : 1858
- Category : Science
- Finest Moment : Discovery of Brownian Movement
The son of a Scottish Episcopalian clergyman, Brown was born on 21 December 1773 in Montrose. He gave his name to the natural phenomenon known as Brownian Movement. This is seen in fluids, when microscopic particles suspended in the fluid appear to move in small random motions. The particles are in fact being 'bumped' by molecules invisible to the eye. Sort of like watching someone at a distance being plagued by midges.
Brown was also recognised in his time as being a superb botanist. After studying medicine at Aberdeen and Edinburgh, he spent five years as an assistant surgeon in the British army. In 1798, while visiting London, he was noticed by Sir Joseph Banks, then President of the Royal Society. Brown was recommended to the Admiralty for the position of naturalist on board the Investigator, about to set out for Australia to survey the north and south coasts. The ship sailed in 1801, and Brown collected 4,000 specimens over the course of the four-year voyage, many unknown to science.
He began to classify his specimens on his return to Britain in 1805. His work not only laid the foundations of Australian botany, it redefined plant classification.
In 1831 he made a far-fetching and important observation while studying orchids and other plants. This was the presence of a structure within the plant cells that he termed the 'nucleus'. Following this finding, major improvements in microscope design were made. He died on 10 June 1858, in London.