Brown
Brown names 12 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Brown ROBERT, a Scotch botanist
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
ROBERT, a Scotch botanist, born in Montrose, Dec. 21, 1773; received his education at Marischal College, Aberdeen, and afterward studied medicine at Edinburgh. In 1800 he was appointed naturalist to Flinders' surveying expedition to Australia. He returned with nearly 4,000 species of plants, and was shortly after appointed librarian to the Linnæan Society. In 1810 he published the first volume of his great work, "Prodromus Floræ Novæ Hollandæ et Insulæ Van Diemen." He was the first English writer on botany who adopted the natural system of classification, which has since entirely superseded that of Linnæus. In 1814 he published a botanical appendix to Flinders' account of his voyage, and in 1828 "A Brief Account of Microscopical Observ Observations the Particles Contained in the on Pollen of Plants, and the General Existence of Active Molecules in al ganic and Inorganic Bodies." He also wrote botanical appendices for the voyages of Ross and Parry, the Afri can exploration of Denham and Clapperton, and others. In 1810 he received the charge of the collections and library of Sir Joseph Banks. He transferred them in 1827 to the British Museum, and was appointed keeper of botany in that institution. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1811, D. C. L., Oxford, in 1832, a Foreign Associate of the French Academy of Sciences in 1833. President of the Linnæan Society in 1849. He died in London, June 10, 1858. As a naturalist Brown occupied the very highest rank among men of science.
Brown CHARLES BROCKDEN, an American novelist
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
CHARLES BROCKDEN, an American novelist, born in Philadelphia, Jan. 17, 1771, was of a highly respectable family, of Quaker descent. He studied law, but abandoned it for literature. His first publication was "Alcuin, a Dialogue on the Rights of Women," which appeared in 1797; followed in 1798 by "Wieland; or, the Transforma- ; tion," a novel; and in 1799 by "Ormond or, the Secret Witness." In 1798 he established himself in New York, and when the yellow fever broke out there he refused to forsake his friends and neighbors; and was himself attacked by pestilence. His experiences he developed in "Arthur Mervyn; or, Memoirs of the Year 1793." "Edgar Huntly; or, the Adventures of a Sleep-Walker." The second part of "Arthur Mervyn" appeared in 1800; and "Clara Howard" in 1801; and in in 1804 the series of his romances was closed with "Jane Talbot." In 1801 he returned to Philadelphia, and edited the "Literary Magazine and American Register." He projected the plan of an "Annual Register," the first work of the kind in the United States, and edited the first volume of it in 1806. He died Feb. 22, 1810.
Brown HENRY KIRKE an American sculptor
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
HENRY KIRKE an American sculptor, born in Leyden, Mass., Feb. 24, 1814. He made the equestrian statue of Washington in Union Square, New York, the altar piece for the Church of the Annunciation in the same ity, portrait busts of city, William Cullen Wi Dr. Willard Parker, Erastus Corning, and other New York men, and the statue of De Witt Clinton in Greenwood cemetery. The last named was the first bronze statue cast in the United States. Some of his other well known works are a statue of Lincoln in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, and equestrian statues of Gen. Scott and Nathanael Greene for the National Government, 1882. etc. He died in Newburgh, N. Y., July 10, 1886.
Brown JOHN, an American opponent of slavery
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
JOHN, an American opponent of slavery, born in Torrington, Conn., May 9, 1800. He early conceived a hatred for slavery, and, having removed to Osawatomie, Kan., in 1855, he took an active part part against the proslavery party. In the summer of 1859 he rented a farmhouse about 6 miles from Harper's Ferry, and organized a plot to liberate the slaves of Virginia. On Oct. 16, he, with the aid of about 20 friends, surprised and captured the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, but was wounded and taken prisoner by the Virginia militia next day; and was tried and executed at Charlestown, Dec. 2, 1859.
Brown JACOB, an American army officer
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
JACOB, an American army officer, born in Bucks co., Pa., May 9, 1775. He was a commander on the Canadian frontier in the War of 1812. In the engagements at Fort Erie he so distinguished himself as to receive the thanks of Congress, Nov. 13, 1814. The city of New York also voted him its freedom. At the close of the war he was in command of the Northern Division of the army, and, in March, 1821, became general-in-chief of the United States army. He died in Washington, D. C., Feb. 24, 1828.
Brown JOHN, author of the Brunonian system in medicine
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
JOHN, author of the Brunonian system in medicine, born in Berwickshire, Scotland, in 1735. After studying ng medicine at the Edinburgh University he took the degree of Doctor in Medicine at St. Andrew's, and, after practicing and teaching in Edinburgh, he published his "Elements of Medicine" (in Latin). He maintained that the majority of diseases were proofs of weakness and not of excessive strength, and that bleeding was erroneous. His opinions materially influenced the practice of his professional successors. He removed to London in 1786, and died there, Oct. 17, 1788.
Brown ROBERT, founder of an English religious sect first called Brownists
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
ROBERT, founder of an English religious sect first called Brownists, and afterward Independents, was born about 1540, and studied at Cambridge, where, in 1580, he began openly to attack the government and liturgy of the Church of England as anti-Christian. He was excommunicated, but was reinstated, and held a church living for over 40 years, dying in 1633. The sect of Brownists soon spread, and a bill was brought into Parliament which inflicted on them very severe pains and penalties. In process of time, the Brownists merged into Congregationalists.
Brown BENJAMIN GRATZ, an American politician
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
BENJAMIN GRATZ, an American politician, born in Lexington, 28, 1826; graduated at Yale, 28, 1826 Ky., May in 1847. He practiced law in Missouri, and was a member of the State Legislature in 1852-1858. In the Civil War he served in the Union army, recruiting a regiment, and becoming a Brigadier- General of volunteers. In 1863-1867 he was United States Senator from Mispri, and in 1871 was elected governor Otate. He was the candidate for •dency of the United States Bryant. D Horace Greeley in Louis, Dec. 13,
Brown JOHN, a Scotch physician and essayist
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
JOHN, a Scotch physician and essayist, born in Biggar in 1810. He graduated in 1833 and began practice as a physician. His leisure hours were devoted to literature. His collected writings were published under the title of "Horæ Subsecive" and embrace papers bearing on medicine, art, poetry, and human life generally. "Rab and His Friends," "Our Dogs," "Pet Marjory," "Jeems the Doorkeeper" on which his fame chiefly rests, have been published separately. He died in Edinburgh, in JOHN BROWN, ABOLITIONIST
Brown FORD MADOX, an English artist
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
FORD MADOX, an English artist, born in Calais, France, in 1821. In 1835 was placed in the Academy at Bruges, studied also at Ghent and Antwerp, and later in Paris. Settled in London in 1845-1846. He was associated with Rossetti, Millais, and the rest of the pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. Among his best pictures are "Lear and His Daughters," "Farewell to England," and "Work," an aggregation of pictures illustrating labor. He died in London, Oct. 6, 1893.
Brown GOOLD, an American grammarian
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
GOOLD, an American grammarian, born in Providence, R. I., March Pro 7, 1791. He is known as the author of "Brown's Grammar," a school text book widely used for some generations, and still in circulation. He published "First Lines of English Grammar" (1823); "Grammar of English Grammars" "Gramm (1850-1851), etc. He taught an academy in New York City for 20 years. He died in Lynn, Mass., March 31, 1857.
Brown NICHOLAS, an American merchant
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
NICHOLAS, an American merchant, born in Providence, R. I., April 4, 1769; best known as the chief patron of Brown University. In honor of his gifts, which exceeded $100,000, the name of the institution was changed, in 1804, from Rhode Island College to Brown University. He gave also magnificent sums to other public institutions of Providence. He died Oct. 27, 1841,
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Collier's compiled these lives in 1921 it ranked Robert Brown of Montrose highest for his Australian herbarium and his adoption of the natural system of classification, treating his 1828 pamphlet on the restless motion of particles in pollen suspensions as one item in a long list. That pamphlet is now the reason most people meet his name: Einstein's 1905 paper on Brownian motion, confirmed experimentally by Jean Perrin, turned Brown's jiggling particles into evidence that matter is made of molecules, and the term Brownian motion is standard in physics, finance and biology. Brown is also credited with naming the cell nucleus. Of the others, John Brown the abolitionist remains the famous one, though modern accounts include what Collier's left out, notably the killings at Pottawatomie in Kansas in 1856; Charles Brockden Brown, described here simply as an American novelist, is now taught as the first professional novelist in the United States and a founder of American gothic fiction, while John Brown of Berwickshire and his Brunonian system have vanished from medicine entirely.
Written for this edition, 2026.