John Raven
Encyclopedia
John Earle Raven who published as J. E. Raven, was an English
classical scholar, notable for his work on presocratic philosophy, and amateur botanist.
, the son of Charles Earle Raven, sometime Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge
and Master of Christ's College, Cambridge
and of Margaret Wollaston. His mother's family endowed Raven with a distinguished intellectual pedigree, including between 1723 and 1829 seven Fellows of the Royal Society (inter alios Charlton Wollaston
, Francis Wollaston (1694-1774), Francis Wollaston (1762-1823), George Wollaston
and William Hyde Wollaston
); Raven was also a 7th generation direct descendent of William Wollaston
, the philosophical writer. On his father's side, he was related to Dean Hole.
Raven was educated at St. Ronan's School
, then situated at Worthing, before proceeding in September 1928 with a scholarship
to Marlborough College
, where he distinguished himself academically, winning prizes in English verse
, Greek iambics
, Greek and Latin prose
and Latin verse, culminating in a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge
. He did not confine himself to the intellectual, playing in the first XV at rugby
and setting new school records in 1934 for the high jump
and 440 yards.
Following the award of a first class degree in classics
at Trinity Raven became in 1946 a research fellow
there. In October 1948 he was elected a fellow
of King's College, Cambridge
, a position he held until his retirement in 1984.
During the Second World War he was a conscientious objector
, basing his case on arguments by Plato
. He was assigned unsalaried social work for Guy Clutton-Brock
at Oxford House
in Bethnal Green
.
. In 1957 he published with Geoffrey Kirk
The Pre-Socratic philosophers, a standard work for undergraduates still in use today. Raven contributed the chapters relating to the Italian tradition (Pythagoras of Samos, Alcmaeon of Croton
, Pre-Parmenidean Pythagoreanism
, Parmenides of Elea, Zeno of Elea
, Melissus of Samos
, Philolaus of Croton and Eurytus of Croton
) and on Anaxagoras
and Archelaus
.
As Senior Tutor at King's in the 1960s he turned the college to the left
telling public schools
that their boys could no longer expect to swan in as before..
Raven was the undergraduate tutor of Myles Burnyeat
who would subsequently become the fifth Laurence Professor of Ancient Philosophy
at Cambridge University.
From the mid 1930s John Heslop-Harrison, Professor of Botany at King's College, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, had reported significant new plant discoveries on expeditions to the Inner
and Outer Hebrides
. The sheer scale of the discoveries aroused scepticism and in 1948 Raven secured a grant from Trinity College to fund a trip to Harris and Rùm
in July and August of that year to investigate the claims of Heslop-Harrison.
Raven's conclusions about two of the notable species were published, briefly, in Nature
. He suggested that both Carex bicolor and Polycarpon tetraphyllum
were introductions to Rùm, but did not comment on the possible means of introduction. His full report of the expedition and fraud was deposited in the library of King's College, Cambridge
and only published in full in 1999 after the deaths of both Heslop-Harrison, his son Jack Heslop-Harrison
and Raven himself. In the report Raven alleged that at some time in the 1940s Heslop Harrison transported alien plants to the Isle of Rum and planted them in the soil; he then "discovered" the plants, claimed they were indigenous to the area and that he was the first to find them. Raven's report to the council of Trinity College states: "In the interests not only of truth but also of the reputation of British science it is essential somehow to discover what plants and what insects he (Heslop Harrison) has either completely fabricated or else deliberately introduced into the Hebrides."
Raven's classical and botanical interests were brought together in four J. H. Gray Lectures given at Cambridge in 1976, published after his death as Plants and Plant Lore in Ancient Greece.
, Hugh Raven, Sarah Raven
and Jane Raven.
He died on 5 March 1980 in Shepreth
, near Cambridge, aged 65. Following his death a group of friends contributed to a collection of essays to commemorate his life, published in 1981 as John Raven by his Friends.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
classical scholar, notable for his work on presocratic philosophy, and amateur botanist.
Early life and education
John Raven was born on 13 December 1914 in CambridgeCambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, the son of Charles Earle Raven, sometime Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge
Regius Professor of Divinity
The Regius Professorship of Divinity is one of the oldest and most prestigious of the professorships at the University of Oxford and at the University of Cambridge.Both chairs were founded by Henry VIII...
and Master of Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
and of Margaret Wollaston. His mother's family endowed Raven with a distinguished intellectual pedigree, including between 1723 and 1829 seven Fellows of the Royal Society (inter alios Charlton Wollaston
Charlton Wollaston
Charlton Wollaston was an English medical doctor, physician to the Queen's Household.He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1756. He was a son of Francis Wollaston . He married in 1758 Phillis Byam and their son was Charlton Byam Wollaston , Assistant Judge Advocate. He was Harveian...
, Francis Wollaston (1694-1774), Francis Wollaston (1762-1823), George Wollaston
George Wollaston
George Wollaston was English. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1763.He was the son of Francis Wollaston . He was educated at Charterhouse School and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he graduated second wrangler in 1758...
and William Hyde Wollaston
William Hyde Wollaston
William Hyde Wollaston FRS was an English chemist and physicist who is famous for discovering two chemical elements and for developing a way to process platinum ore.-Biography:...
); Raven was also a 7th generation direct descendent of William Wollaston
William Wollaston
William Wollaston was an English philosophical writer. He is remembered today for one book, which he completed only two years before his death: ....
, the philosophical writer. On his father's side, he was related to Dean Hole.
Raven was educated at St. Ronan's School
St. Ronan's School
Saint Ronan's School is an independent co-educational preparatory school for boys and girls from 3 to 13 years located near Hawkhurst in Kent, England. It currently has about 200 boys and 100 girls, all of them day pupils, although boarding is available from time to time...
, then situated at Worthing, before proceeding in September 1928 with a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to Marlborough College
Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
, where he distinguished himself academically, winning prizes in English verse
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, Greek iambics
Iambus (genre)
Iambus was a genre of ancient Greek poetry that included but was not restricted to the iambic meter and whose origins modern scholars have traced to the cults of Demeter and Dionysus. The genre featured insulting and obscene language...
, Greek and Latin prose
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
and Latin verse, culminating in a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
. He did not confine himself to the intellectual, playing in the first XV at rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and setting new school records in 1934 for the high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
and 440 yards.
Following the award of a first class degree in classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
at Trinity Raven became in 1946 a research fellow
Research fellow
The title of research fellow is used to denote a research position at a university or similar institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a principal investigator...
there. In October 1948 he was elected a fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, a position he held until his retirement in 1984.
During the Second World War he was a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
, basing his case on arguments by Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
. He was assigned unsalaried social work for Guy Clutton-Brock
Guy Clutton-Brock
Arthur Guy Clutton-Brock was an English social worker, who became a Zimbabwean nationalist and co-founder of Cold Comfort Farm....
at Oxford House
Oxford House (settlement)
Oxford House in Bethnal Green, London was established in September 1884 as one of the first "settlements" by Oxford University as a High-Anglican Church of England counterpart to Toynbee Hall, established around the same time at Whitechapel.- History :...
in Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...
.
Classical scholar
As a classical scholar, Raven's interests were in ancient philosophyAncient philosophy
This page lists some links to ancient philosophy. In Western philosophy, the spread of Christianity through the Roman Empire marked the ending of Hellenistic philosophy and ushered in the beginnings of Medieval philosophy, whereas in Eastern philosophy, the spread of Islam through the Arab Empire...
. In 1957 he published with Geoffrey Kirk
Geoffrey Kirk
Geoffrey Stephen Kirk DSC, FBA was a British classical scholar, known for his books on Ancient Greek literature and mythology.-Life:...
The Pre-Socratic philosophers, a standard work for undergraduates still in use today. Raven contributed the chapters relating to the Italian tradition (Pythagoras of Samos, Alcmaeon of Croton
Alcmaeon of Croton
Alcmaeon of Croton was one of the most eminent natural philosophers and medical theorists of antiquity. His father's name was Peirithus . He is said by some to have been a pupil of Pythagoras, and he may have been born around 510 BC...
, Pre-Parmenidean Pythagoreanism
Pythagoreanism
Pythagoreanism was the system of esoteric and metaphysical beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans, who were considerably influenced by mathematics. Pythagoreanism originated in the 5th century BCE and greatly influenced Platonism...
, Parmenides of Elea, Zeno of Elea
Zeno of Elea
Zeno of Elea was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher of southern Italy and a member of the Eleatic School founded by Parmenides. Aristotle called him the inventor of the dialectic. He is best known for his paradoxes, which Bertrand Russell has described as "immeasurably subtle and profound".- Life...
, Melissus of Samos
Melissus of Samos
Melissus of Samos was the third and last member of the ancient school of Eleatic philosophy, whose other members included Zeno and Parmenides. Little is known about his life except that he was the commander of the Samian fleet shortly before the Peloponnesian War. Melissus’ contribution to...
, Philolaus of Croton and Eurytus of Croton
Eurytus (Pythagorean)
Eurytus , an eminent Pythagorean philosopher, lived c. 400 BC, who Iamblichus in one passage describes as a native of Croton, while in another, he enumerates him among the Tarentine Pythagoreans. He was a disciple of Philolaus, and Diogenes Laërtiusmentions him among the teachers of Plato, though...
) and on Anaxagoras
Anaxagoras
Anaxagoras was a Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. Born in Clazomenae in Asia Minor, Anaxagoras was the first philosopher to bring philosophy from Ionia to Athens. He attempted to give a scientific account of eclipses, meteors, rainbows, and the sun, which he described as a fiery mass larger than...
and Archelaus
Archelaus
- Historical persons :*Archelaus , pupil of Anaxagoras, 5th century BC*Archelaus I of Macedon, reigned 413-399 BC*Archelaus , fought in the First, Second and Third Mithridatic Wars...
.
As Senior Tutor at King's in the 1960s he turned the college to the left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
telling public schools
Public School (UK)
A public school, in common British usage, is a school that is neither administered nor financed by the state or from taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of endowments, tuition fees and charitable contributions, usually existing as a non profit-making charitable trust...
that their boys could no longer expect to swan in as before..
Raven was the undergraduate tutor of Myles Burnyeat
Myles Burnyeat
Myles Fredric Burnyeat CBE FBA is an English classicist and philosopher.-Life:Educated at Bryanston School and King’s College, Cambridge, Burnyeat was a student of Bernard Williams at University College London....
who would subsequently become the fifth Laurence Professor of Ancient Philosophy
Laurence Professor of Ancient Philosophy
The Laurence Professorship of Ancient Philosophy at Cambridge University was established in 1930 as one of the offices endowed by the bequest of Sir Perceval Maitland Laurence; it is the oldest chair of ancient philosophy in the world....
at Cambridge University.
Botanist: The Heslop-Harrison fraud
While Raven's principal professional occupation was his career as a classical scholar, he applied a similar intellectual rigour to his amateur interest in botany.From the mid 1930s John Heslop-Harrison, Professor of Botany at King's College, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, had reported significant new plant discoveries on expeditions to the Inner
Inner Hebrides
The Inner Hebrides is an archipelago off the west coast of Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which enjoy a mild oceanic climate. There are 36 inhabited islands and a further 43 uninhabited Inner Hebrides with an area greater than...
and Outer Hebrides
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...
. The sheer scale of the discoveries aroused scepticism and in 1948 Raven secured a grant from Trinity College to fund a trip to Harris and Rùm
Rùm
Rùm , a Scottish Gaelic name often anglicised to Rum) is one of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, in the district of Lochaber, Scotland...
in July and August of that year to investigate the claims of Heslop-Harrison.
Raven's conclusions about two of the notable species were published, briefly, in Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
. He suggested that both Carex bicolor and Polycarpon tetraphyllum
Polycarpon tetraphyllum
Polycarpon tetraphyllum, commonly known as Four-leaved Allseed , is a plant of the family Caryophyllaceae . An annual herb growing to 15 cm in height, it is found on sandy soils, in coastal areas and on wasteland. Native to Europe, it is also naturalised in parts of North America, Australia and...
were introductions to Rùm, but did not comment on the possible means of introduction. His full report of the expedition and fraud was deposited in the library of King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
and only published in full in 1999 after the deaths of both Heslop-Harrison, his son Jack Heslop-Harrison
Jack Heslop-Harrison
John "Jack" Heslop-Harrison FRS FAAAS was a British soldier and botanist.-Early life and education:He was born in Middlesbrough to John William Heslop-Harrison and his wife Christian Henderson, the last of three children...
and Raven himself. In the report Raven alleged that at some time in the 1940s Heslop Harrison transported alien plants to the Isle of Rum and planted them in the soil; he then "discovered" the plants, claimed they were indigenous to the area and that he was the first to find them. Raven's report to the council of Trinity College states: "In the interests not only of truth but also of the reputation of British science it is essential somehow to discover what plants and what insects he (Heslop Harrison) has either completely fabricated or else deliberately introduced into the Hebrides."
Raven's classical and botanical interests were brought together in four J. H. Gray Lectures given at Cambridge in 1976, published after his death as Plants and Plant Lore in Ancient Greece.
Family
Raven married Constance Faith Alethea Hugh Smith; they had five children: Anna Raven, Andrew RavenAndrew Raven
Andrew Owen Earle Raven OBE , was a British conservationist and an influential contributor to modern land policy in Scotland....
, Hugh Raven, Sarah Raven
Sarah Raven
Sarah Clare Raven is an English gardener, writer and television presenter.She was born in Cambridge, the daughter of John Earle Raven Sarah Clare Raven (born 1963) is an English gardener, writer and television presenter.She was born in Cambridge, the daughter of John Earle Raven Sarah Clare...
and Jane Raven.
He died on 5 March 1980 in Shepreth
Shepreth
Shepreth is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, lying halfway between Cambridge and Royston.-History:The parish of Shepreth is roughly-rectangular and covers 1318 acres...
, near Cambridge, aged 65. Following his death a group of friends contributed to a collection of essays to commemorate his life, published in 1981 as John Raven by his Friends.
Publications
- Pythagoreans and Eleatics: An account of the interaction between the two opposed schools during the fifth and early fourth centuries B.C, Cambridge University Press, 1948
- Mountain Flowers (with Max WaltersMax WaltersDr Max Walters was a British botanist and academic. As a conscientious objector in the Second World War, he worked as a hospital orderly in Sheffield and Bristol...
), Collins 1956 ISBN 0002131420 - Presocratic Philosophers: A Critical History with a Selection of Texts (with G. S. KirkGeoffrey KirkGeoffrey Stephen Kirk DSC, FBA was a British classical scholar, known for his books on Ancient Greek literature and mythology.-Life:...
), Cambridge University Press, 1957 - Plato's Thought in the Making: a Study of the Development of His Metaphysics, Cambridge University Press 1965
- A Botanist's Garden, Collins 1971 ISBN 0002110989
- Pythagoreans and Eleatics, Ares Pub 1981 ISBN 0890053677
- Plants and Plant Lore in Ancient Greece. Oxford: Leopard's Head Press, 2000, ISBN 0904920402