Edward William Brayley
Encyclopedia
Edward William Brayley FRS (1801 – February 1, 1870) was an English
geographer
, librarian
, and science
author
.
, the son of Edward Wedlake Brayley
, a notable antiquary and his wife Anne (c. 1771-1850). His early schooling, in the company of his brothers Henry and Horatio was private and sheltered. His upbringing was austere with little contact with other children or the world outside his home. He later studied at the London Institution
and the Royal Institution
under William Thomas Brande
.
Brayley abandoned an early inclination to follow his father's interests for science. He published on diverse topics in several scientific journal
s including the Philosophical Magazine
, for which he became an editorial assistant between 1823 and 1844. In 1829 and 1830, Brayley was employed by Rowland Hill
to lecture on the physical science
s at his schools as Hazelwood, Edgbaston
, Birmingham
and Bruce Castle
, Tottenham
, London
.
of the London Institution and in 1865 professor of physical geography
. He lectured there on diverse subjects and also at the Royal Institution
, the London Mechanics' Institute
, and the Belgrave, Russell, and Marylebone Institutions. As a staff member of the London Institution he was often called on at the last minute to substitute for an indisposed lecturer and his talks included:
's Chemical Catechism (1834) and contributed many biographical
and scientific articles to the English Cyclopaedia
. Brayley was a close collaborator and friend of William Robert Grove
and notably worked with him on the publication of Groves's seminal book on the conservation of energy
, On the Correlation of Physical Forces (1846). He also assisted in the editing of Luke Howard
's Barometrographia (1847).
at his home in Islington
, London
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
geographer
Geographer
A geographer is a scholar whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society.Although geographers are historically known as people who make maps, map making is actually the field of study of cartography, a subset of geography...
, librarian
Librarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
, and science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
.
Early life
Brayley was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the son of Edward Wedlake Brayley
Edward Wedlake Brayley
Edward Wedlake Brayley was an English antiquary and topographer.He was born at Lambeth, London. He was apprenticed to the enamelling trade, but developed an early interest in literature. His close friendship with John Britton lasted for sixty-five years...
, a notable antiquary and his wife Anne (c. 1771-1850). His early schooling, in the company of his brothers Henry and Horatio was private and sheltered. His upbringing was austere with little contact with other children or the world outside his home. He later studied at the London Institution
London Institution
The London Institution was an educational institution founded in London in 1806...
and the Royal Institution
Royal Institution
The Royal Institution of Great Britain is an organization devoted to scientific education and research, based in London.-Overview:...
under William Thomas Brande
William Thomas Brande
William Thomas Brande FRS , English chemist.Brande was born in London, England. After leaving Westminster School, he was apprenticed, in 1802, to his brother, an apothecary, with the view of adopting the profession of medicine. However, Brande's bent was towards chemistry, a sound knowledge of...
.
Brayley abandoned an early inclination to follow his father's interests for science. He published on diverse topics in several scientific journal
Scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...
s including the Philosophical Magazine
Philosophical Magazine
The Philosophical Magazine is one of the oldest scientific journals published in English. Initiated by Alexander Tilloch in 1798, in 1822 Richard Taylor became joint editor and it has been published continuously by Taylor & Francis ever since; it was the journal of choice for such luminaries as...
, for which he became an editorial assistant between 1823 and 1844. In 1829 and 1830, Brayley was employed by Rowland Hill
Rowland Hill (postal reformer)
Sir Rowland Hill KCB, FRS was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of penny postage and his solution of prepayment, facilitating the safe, speedy and cheap transfer of letters...
to lecture on the physical science
Physical science
Physical science is an encompassing term for the branches of natural science and science that study non-living systems, in contrast to the life sciences...
s at his schools as Hazelwood, Edgbaston
Edgbaston
Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and Bruce Castle
Bruce Castle School
Bruce Castle School, at Bruce Castle, Tottenham, was a progressive school for boys established in 1827 as an extension of Rowland Hill's Hazelwood School at Edgbaston...
, Tottenham
Tottenham
Tottenham is an area of the London Borough of Haringey, England, situated north north east of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:Tottenham is believed to have been named after Tota, a farmer, whose hamlet was mentioned in the Domesday Book; hence Tota's hamlet became Tottenham...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Librarian and lecturer
In 1834, he became librarianLibrarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
of the London Institution and in 1865 professor of physical geography
Physical geography
Physical geography is one of the two major subfields of geography. Physical geography is that branch of natural science which deals with the study of processes and patterns in the natural environment like the atmosphere, biosphere and geosphere, as opposed to the cultural or built environment, the...
. He lectured there on diverse subjects and also at the Royal Institution
Royal Institution
The Royal Institution of Great Britain is an organization devoted to scientific education and research, based in London.-Overview:...
, the London Mechanics' Institute
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...
, and the Belgrave, Russell, and Marylebone Institutions. As a staff member of the London Institution he was often called on at the last minute to substitute for an indisposed lecturer and his talks included:
- MeteorMETEORMETEOR is a metric for the evaluation of machine translation output. The metric is based on the harmonic mean of unigram precision and recall, with recall weighted higher than precision...
s and meteorologyMeteorologyMeteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
; - MineralogyMineralogyMineralogy is the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.-History:Early writing...
; - Physical geography;
- PeatPeatPeat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
; - "Metalliferous deposits";
- "Recent eclipseEclipseAn eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object is temporarily obscured, either by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer...
s; - "Lord Rosse's telescopesLeviathan of ParsonstownLeviathan of Parsonstown is the unofficial name of the Rosse six foot telescope. This is a historic reflecting telescope of 72 in aperture, which was the largest telescope in the world from 1845 until the construction of the 100 in Hooker Telescope in 1917...
"; - "Hall's condensing apparatus";
- The remains at PompeiiPompeiiThe city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
; and - Photogenic drawingCalotypeCalotype or talbotype is an early photographic process introduced in 1841 by William Henry Fox Talbot, using paper coated with silver iodide. The term calotype comes from the Greek for 'beautiful', and for 'impression'....
.
Editor
Most of his scientific work involved the analysis and synthesis of the published ideas of others. Brayley worked on the publication of Samuel ParkesSamuel Parkes (chemist)
Samuel Parkes was a British manufacturing chemist.He published manuals of chemistry between 1806 and 1815.His work of popular science, the Chemical Catechism, includes poetical descriptions of chemical processes. Here is his description of plant respiration:Samuel Parkes Samuel Parkes (c....
's Chemical Catechism (1834) and contributed many biographical
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
and scientific articles to the English Cyclopaedia
English Cyclopaedia
The English Cyclopaedia: A new dictionary of universal knowledge , was published by Charles Knight, based on the Penny Cyclopaedia, of which he had the copyright...
. Brayley was a close collaborator and friend of William Robert Grove
William Robert Grove
Sir William Robert Grove PC QC FRS was a judge and physical scientist. He anticipated the general theory of the conservation of energy, and was a pioneer of fuel cell technology.-Early life:...
and notably worked with him on the publication of Groves's seminal book on the conservation of energy
Conservation of energy
The nineteenth century law of conservation of energy is a law of physics. It states that the total amount of energy in an isolated system remains constant over time. The total energy is said to be conserved over time...
, On the Correlation of Physical Forces (1846). He also assisted in the editing of Luke Howard
Luke Howard
Luke Howard FRS was a British manufacturing chemist and an amateur meteorologist with broad interests in science...
's Barometrographia (1847).
Personality and death
Though he is known to have married, nothing is known of his wife. Bayley died of heart diseaseHeart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
at his home in Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Offices and honours
- Founder member of the Zoological Society;
- Founder member of the Chemical SocietyChemical SocietyThe Chemical Society was formed in 1841 as a result of increased interest in scientific matters....
; - Corresponding member of the Societas Naturae Scrutatorum at BaselBaselBasel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
; - Member of the American Philosophical SocietyAmerican Philosophical SocietyThe American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
; - Member of the British Meteorological Society, (1850);
- Fellow of the Royal Society, (1854);
- The lunar crater BrayleyBrayley (crater)Brayley is a lunar impact crater located in the southwest part of the Mare Imbrium. It has a circular rim and a low rise in the center. There are no notable craters overlapping the rim or interior.-Satellite craters:...
is named for him.